New Members Appointed to Social Work Advisory Council
April 15, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas - Seven new members have accepted appointments to serve a three-year term on the School of Social Work Foundation Advisory Council beginning spring 2009. These individuals join the existing roster of Advisory Council members led by Chair George Brown and Vice-Chair Sheri Perry Gallo who are interested in the support and development of social work education at The University of Texas at Austin. Council members consult with and support Dean Barbara W. White in promoting the growth of the school and provide guidance for fundraising activities. The new members will attend their first meeting of the Social Work Foundation Advisory Council on Thursday, April 16.
The seven new Advisory Council members are:
Mary Beth Arcidiacono
Mary Beth Arcidiacono, LMSW
Arcidiacono is a ChildTrauma Fellow with the ChildTrauma Academy (CTA), a not-for-profit organization based in Houston, Texas, focused on education, service delivery and program consultation in the areas of child maltreatment.
As a member of the CTA Critical Incidence Response Team, she conducts debriefings for Texas Department of Family and Protective Services staff who have experienced the death, or serious injury, of a child on their caseload or other traumatic events in their work. She received a master's degree in social work from the University of Houston.
Margaret Bassett, LPC-S
Basett has worked in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault for more than 24 years. She is employed as a victim witness counselor with the District Attorney's Office, Travis County. She provides information, support and referrals to victims of family violence intimate partner felony crimes and helps them navigate the legal system.
Bassett has worked previously as a counselor in various shelters, with at-risk youth and families, supervised a children's shelter, provided emergency triage and assessment of adults in psychiatric distress, and worked in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corp volunteer. She is an adjunct instructor with The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. She received a M.S. Ed. from Northern Illinois University.
The Honorable Guy Herman
The Honorable Guy Herman
An elected judge for the Travis County Probate Court No. 1, having been first appointed in 1985, Judge Herman previously served as Justice of the Peace for five years with Travis County's 5th Precinct.
Judge Herman was appointed to the Mental Health Crisis Services System Task Force of the Texas Department of State Health Services in 2006 and continues to lecture throughout the state on probate, guardianship and mental health law. In addition, he helped to organize the Texas Dispute Resolution Center, an organization committed to using mediation whenever possible to resolve guardianship contests involving family members; he was instrumental in the conception and formation of the Family Eldercare Guardianship Program, and he organized the Travis County Mental Health Coordinating Council, providing agencies and advocacy groups a forum to address concerns with the involuntary mental health service system. He earned a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
Susan Hollon
An attorney, Hollon worked for 30 years with the Texas Department of Human Services before retiring in 2003. She and her staff provided legal support to Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, Child Care Licensing, Long Term Care regulation, Civil Rights, Social Services Contract Administration, Food Stamp, AFDC and Medicaid eligibility staff and client hearings. Hollon also served as a board member for the Texas Guardianship Association for several years. She earned a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
Bobbie Mae Matthews
Bobbie Mae Matthews
Matthews, executive director of the Settlement Home for Children for more than 20 years, is now director emeritus of that organization's board. She previously worked at the Texas Department of Human Services for 20 years, serving as director for child protective services for half that time. She also spent four years working at a Methodist Missionary in Mexico.
In addition to serving on 16 different boards of Texas children's agencies, Matthews has received multiple awards for her work with children.
As a consultant, Matthews has worked with the Texas Legislature, Texas Bar Association, Texas Attorney General's Office, Child Welfare League of America, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Public Welfare Association, and various children's agencies, boards and juvenile courts. She has also been a guest lecturer and consultant at various graduate schools of social work, including The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Arlington, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Houston, Tulane University, and St. Edward's University. She earned a master's degree in social work from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Camille D. Miller
Camille D. Miller
Miller has been the president and CEO of Texas Health Institute since its inception in 1996. After completing bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology and social work, Miller gained extensive experience in policy research and development while she served under two governors and two lieutenant governors, a state comptroller and state senator planning, researching and developing state policy to address health and human services issues. She also held executive staff positions at the Texas Department of Community Affairs and the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. As chief of staff for the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, she supervised legislative interim studies on medically fragile children, reorganization of health and human services and Medicaid.
In February 1995, the Texas Hospital Association (THA) selected her to be the director of its Medicaid project, and immediately promoted her to Director of Regulatory Affairs. When the 32-year old Texas Hospital Education and Research Foundation changed its name and mission to create the Institute, THA again tapped into her experience in policy development and her strong leadership skills when they asked her to be the Institute's first president and chief executive officer. In 2006, THI merged with Texas Health Foundation to create the Texas Health Institute, an independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
Miller serves as past chair of the National Network of Public Health Institutes and the State Health Policy Centers Collaborative. She serves on the National Rural Health Association Interest Group on Medicaid, the Advisory Councils of Baylor University's School of Social Work and Hankamer School of Business Healthcare Administration Program. She also serves on the Texas A & M University's Masters of Healthcare Administration Professional Advisory Committee.
The Honorable Scott McCown
The Honorable Scott McCown
Judge McCown retired as a state district judge in September 2002 to become the executive director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities. In 1985, the Congregation of Benedictine Sisters founded the center as a health policy think tank. The center has grown into an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit policy institute committed to improving public policies to better the economic and social conditions for low- and moderate-income Texans. In 2007, the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin presented Scott with the Vision and Valor Award of Distinction for exemplary accomplishments in the promotion of social justice. In 2005, Texas Monthly named Scott one of "The 25 Most Powerful People in Texas Politics" and a "voice for the voiceless."
As a state district judge, Scott McCown presided over a court of general jurisdiction, but by special assignment also presided over a child protection docket. He heard more than 2,000 child abuse cases concerning more than 4,000 children. He is widely recognized for his expertise in child protection and remains an active member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Scott McCown earned a J.D. with Honors from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
For more information, contact:
Laura Turner Wells
Assistant Director of Development
(512) 232-8376
lwells@mail.utexas.edu