CURRICULUM VITAE LAURA LEWIS 4643 Victoria Way Erie, Pennsylvania 16509 (814) 824-2359 (w) (814) 868-1366 (h) llewis@mercyhurst.edu Education Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1999. M.S.W. Community Organization track, University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1996. M.A. Counseling, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, 1986. B.A. Political Science major, Communications minor, Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington, 1980. Professional Experience Associate Professor, Sociology/Social Work Department, Mercyhurst College, September 1998 - present. Department Chair, Fall, 2000 Spring, 2008. Teach courses across the BSW curriculum as well as sociology course, advise students, committee work, and fieldwork supervision. Research Fellow, Mercyhurst College Civic Institute. 2008- present. Engaged in a communitywide collaborative project aimed at addressing poverty in the Erie Region. Conducted program evaluation for residential treatment facility. Program Director, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, January 1996 - June 1998. The Institute of Politics provides a forum for elected officials, civic, business, and other community leaders and decision makers to come together to exchange dialogue (off-therecord) on policy issues faced in Southwest Pennsylvania. In addition to on-going writing for the Institute s Report, a quarterly newsletter, I worked closely with numerous committees in the planning and development of programs aimed at providing our constituents with the information needed to carefully analyze issues and explore policy alternatives. Adjunct Faculty, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Fall 1997. Taught graduate course, Foundations of Generalist Social Work Practice. Research Assistant, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. January 1996 - December 1996 & May 1997 - November 1997. Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Services for Seeing Impaired Elderly Individuals. Primary responsibilities included scale development, interviewing of participants, setting up of database and running of some preliminary analysis.
Licensure Advocate, Just Harvest: Center for Action Against Hunger. Fieldwork Spring 1995 and summer employment, 1995. Engaged in grassroots organizing effort to gain support for the implementation of a school breakfast program in an Allegheny School District with high rate of poverty. Promoted the Summer Food Program in Allegheny County. Director, Evening and Summer Sessions, Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, 1991-1994. Set up course offerings and carried out administrative duties for programs for parttime adult students enrolled in evening and weekend programs. Served as academic adviser for part-time evening students and outreach students. Counselor, 1989-1991, part-time, AGAPE-Lutheran Social Services & Mercyhurst College Career Institute, Erie, Pennsylvania. Director, Center for New Directions, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, 1986-1989. Taught life skills courses to single-parents and displaced homemakers, secured funding through grants; planned, developed, and implemented social service programs; and conducted career counseling, as well as individual and group counseling sessions. Additional Social Work/Social Service Experience: From 1980-1986 I worked in a variety of social service settings through school internships, volunteer experience, and paid employment that afforded me an opportunity to work with numerous populations including: crisis line volunteer; counselor at a group home for teenage girls; volunteer and intern with a program for victims of domestic violence; volunteer with a program for juveniles, and Head Resident at Whitman College. Licensed Social Worker, State of Pennsylvania (LSW) Academy of Accredited Social Workers (ACSW) Publications (peer reviewed and in-house) Chapter length case study, The Expansion of Human Services in Allegheny County 1968-1995: in Public Policy Praxis: Theory and Pragmatism: A Case Approach, in Clemons, R. & McBeth, M., New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2001 & 2009 editions. Perceptions of Poverty in Erie County, Mercyhurst College Civic Institute, Fall 2007. The High Costs of Poverty in Erie County: It Effects Us All, Erie Community Foundation, Fall 2007. Improving The Well-Being of Vision-Impaired Older Adults Through Orientation and Mobility Training and Rehabilitation, by Engel, Welsh and Lewis, Journal of Rehabilitation and Education for Blindness and Visual Impairment, Vol. 32, #1, Summer 2000. Post-TANF: Work and Self-Sufficiency? published in Speaking Out: Women, Poverty, and Public Policy. This publication was a collection of papers presented at the twenty-third annual conference on the University of Wisconsin System Women s Studies Consortium and offers a variety of viewpoints on welfare reform. Fall, 1999. Two Key Environmental Issues Facing Southwestern Pennsylvania: Brownfields and
Air Quality, Status Report, June 1997, University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics Publication. Book Review: The Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and Fourth American Revolution by Michael Lind, Journal of Health & Social Policy, Vol. 9, Number 2, 1997. Peer Reviewed Conference Presentations Undergraduate Curriculum on Poverty: Do We Get a Passing Grade? Co-presentation at the Council of Social Work Education s Annual Program Meeting. Atlanta Georgia, October, 2011. Policy Practice Assessment presented at National Social Work Bachelor Directors Conference. February, 2011. It Takes a Community presented at Kent State Ashtabula Social Justice Conference. September 2010. Addressing the Issue of Poverty In Social Work Education Who s Doing What? presented at National Social Work Bachelor Directors Conference. March, 2010. Teaching Spiritual Sensitivity Across the Curriculum co-presented at National Social Work Bachelor Directors Conference, March, 2008. Co-presented revised version at Annual Council on Social Work Education Conference. November, 2008. Achieving Praxis prepared for National Social Work Bachelor Directors Conference. October 2006. (Co-presenter presented in my absence). Impacting Policy: A Case Study Approach to Increasing Student Efficacy. Presented at National Social Work Bachelor Directors Conference. 2004. Using a Simulation To Inspire Social Change: What s Within Reach? Presented at the Annual National Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors. Reno, Nevada, October 2003. TANF and Self-Sufficiency presented at the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers state conference. Poconos, Pennsylvania, March 2001. Life After TANF: Single Mothers in Erie County Pennsylvania Share Their Experiences Presented at the Council of Social Work Education s 46th Annual Program Meeting, New York City, March 2000. A Poverty Simulation: An Effective Tool for Social Work Education, Presented at the Council of Social Work Education s 44th Annual Program Meeting, Orlando, Florida, March 1998. Post-TANF: Work and Self-Sufficiency? Presented at the Women, Poverty, and Public Policy Conference, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, October 1998.
Making Sense of The Public Policy Process: A Model For Increasing Efficacy, Coauthored and presented with Elizabeth Beck at the Social Welfare and Policy Practice Symposium, Council of Social Work Education s 43rd Annual Program Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, March 1997. Selected Professional Presentations and Media Interviews Media Interviews for Erie Together (newspaper, television and radio). Fall 2009 - current. What Makes Communities Healthy panel presentation sponsored by Value Behavioral Health. May, 2010. Erie & the American Dream Series-- Panel on Poverty sponsored by Penn State Behrend. Spring 2009. Requested to provide testimony regarding the impact of welfare reform to a state legislative committee, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 2001. Requested by the Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project to present at a statewide gathering on findings from my research on Transitional Assistance to Needy Families, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and April 1999. Conferences and Workshops: Sponsored/Organized Child Trauma Treatment: The Fairy Tale Model, Oct. 2010. The Second Crisis of 2009: Social Impacts of the Economic Downturn, Dec. 2009. Ethics, Social Work and the 21 st Century, April 2003. Breakfast with State Legislators for area social workers, 1999 2006(moderated event 2002 & 2003, and 2006). Nurturing the Soul Social Work, St. Mark s Catholic Center, October 2001. Juvenile Probation and Children s Services in Erie County, Mercyhurst College, February 2000. Spirituality: The Challenges and Opportunities for Social Work, April 2000. Professional Board and Committee Involvement Board Member, Erie County MH/MR 1999-2003 & 2006-present, Chair, 2003 and 2009 Board Member, Mercy Center for Women 2003-2006. Client Care Committee, Mercy Center for Women 2004 present. Erie Community Foundation Council of Advisors 2006-2008. Family Partnership Committee, Habitat for Humanity 2004-2006.
College Service Awards Rank and Tenure, January Oct. 2006, Fall 2008 Spring 2011, Chair Fall 2010-11. Faculty Research Committee, Fall 2009 Spring 2010. Planning Committees for year-long events based on designated theme, 2008, 2010, and 2011. Public Scholarship Ad hoc Committee, 2007. Peer Review Committee Chair, 2007. Executive Committee, Faculty Senate 2004-2005. Academic Planning and Assessment Committee, 2003 2005, Chair 2005. Advisory Committee -- Gender Studies Minor. 2003 Co-Advisor, Social Work Club, 1998-current. Judicial Review Board, 2003-2004 Faculty mentor program, 2003-2004 Academic Policy Committee, 2002-2003. Student Development Subcommittee for Middle States self-study, 2000-2001. Faculty Policy Committee contract and evaluation subcommittee, 1999-2000. Counseling Center Committee on Wellness, 1999-2000. Ad hoc committee charged with developing a plan for addressing diversity on campus, 1999. 2001 Social Worker of The Year: Northwest Division of the Pennsylvania-NASW. 2006 Women Making History Mercy Center for Women Dynamic Dozen 2010 Mercyhurst College Teaching Excellence Award