Global Social Work: Paths to Service in Africa

Join us for a discussion of what it means to do social work in Africa with an alumnus who has created an organization for improving lives and communities in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ethiopia; and a professor who is leading research related to trauma, mental health and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

SPEAKER: Jarret Schecter (MSW’14) has a background in business, photojournalism, and work for international nonprofits. Having taken photos for 15 years, in the course of which he has published 12 books, he has become known for the way he uses his camera to bring attention to sociopolitical issues. A few years before entering CSSW, Schecter collaborated on setting up the Denan Project, which has established medical clinics in four locations across three continents. Having earned his MSW, he is now pursuing a doctoral degree in counseling psychology while setting up his own nonprofit to fund medical treatment, schools, and microloans initially in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ethiopia. The organization is called TEEEM, and the three “e”s stand for empathic, entrepreneur, and equality.

DISCUSSANT: Lynn Michalopoulos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the Columbia School of Social Work and founder of the Global Health and Mental Unit of CSSW’s Social Intervention Group. She has an extensive background in clinical social work and spent many years treating vulnerable populations who experienced trauma. Her research is focused on the relationship between trauma, mental health and HIV among migrant populations from low- and middle-income countries. Her research also focuses on the development and adaptation of culturally relevant assessment tools for trauma-affected populations. For the past several years, Dr. Michaloploulos has been primarily working in Zambia, Uganda and South Africa.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; REGISTRATION REQUIRED.