Photo of Marva Carroll, MSW ’06: Marva’s strong sense of community and family fostered by her upbringing in the deep South made for a great fit with Buffalo, New York and the diversity of the UB campus. Upon receiving her MSW degree, she moved to Arizona, working to affect change and improve the welfare of Native American peoples.
Photo of Kelly Jackson, PhD ’07: In earning her PhD in Social Welfare at UB, Kelly made strong contributions to social work scholarship though her teaching and social research on race and culture.  She is now as an assistant professor in Arizona, continuing to make her impact on education among diverse populations, including American Indian and Hispanic cultures.
Photo of Robert Chapman, MSW ’03: With a full-time job in clinical practice, Robert was able to continue work while a student in the School of Social Work’s flexible part-time MSW program. In his evaluation of the program’s impact on his work as an addictions counselor, he credits the school with helping him polish the skills needed to affect change in his clients’ lives.
Photo of Marie Roth, MSW ’02: Social work was always Marie’s first desire and, impacted by an employer’s downsizing, she came to UB’s master’s program to finally realize her dream. By continuing her education at UB, she is now a clinical supervisor and therapist, working with diverse populations of children with mental health concerns to improve their welfare.
Photo of David Crowther, JD/MSW ’05: Combining his interests in law and social work, David completed the school’s JD/MSW program to be an agent of social change.  He found that the school’s dual-degree program taught him to celebrate diversity and see commonalities, and that it helped develop communication that enables a deeper understanding with his law clients.
Photo of Maria Perez-Cruz, MSW ’02: Maria uses her master’s education in social work to serve diverse clientele in an economically depressed community in one of the largest farming regions in New York State. She took advantage of the school’s part-time MSW extension program in Jamestown, New York, continuing her education while remaining to live and work in her area.
 
Photo of Robert Chapman, MSW ’03: Our graduates are living proof that we make a difference in people’s lives. The School of Social Work is fully accredited by the CSWE and offers full-time and part-time regular and advanced standing MSW programs, interdisciplinary programs (JD/MSW, BA/MSW, and MBA/MSW), post-MSW options (PhD and post-graduate certificate programs), and non-degree options (non-matriculated study and continuing education).
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Alumni Day 2009

Keynote Speaker: Bernie Tolbert

Photo of Bernie Tolbert.

Keynote Presentation Video

Bernie Tolbert is a Senior Vice President in the National Basketball Association where he is responsible for the security of all League operations including arenas, players, staff and fans.  In addition, the NBA has offices in ten countries around the world and Bernie Tolbert is responsible for the security of those offices.

Bernie was born in Buffalo, New York, where he received his early education in the Buffalo Public School System. Upon graduating from high school, Bernie attended the State University of New York at Buffalo where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in 1971 and a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1973.  Following a short stint as a high school teacher, Bernie worked in several human service agencies including five years as a program director in a large, private family-counseling agency.

In January 1980, he entered on duty as a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Following sixteen weeks of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, Bernie served in the Buffalo and New York City Offices.  In June 1985, he was transferred to FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C., as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Intelligence Division.  In March 1987, Bernie was transferred back to the Buffalo Division, where he supervised all Foreign Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism and Civil Rights investigations in the Western New York area.  In November 1990, Bernie was reassigned as Chief of the Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Training Unit at FBI Headquarters until October 1992, when he was appointed to the position of Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Philadelphia Office.  In January 1997, Bernie was promoted and assigned as an Inspector in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters.  On May 5, 1998, he was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Division.  He retired from the FBI in March 2001, and worked as a Security Manager for the Coca-Cola Company and prior to coming to the NBA, was Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Security for HSBC Bank.

Presentation: Translating Social Work Values into Non-traditional Work Environments

Nabbing bank robbers; Chasing spies; Protecting against terrorists; Interacting with and being responsible for the security of the highest paid athletes in the world, all while dealing with government and security professionals across all parts of globe. How does training as a social worker prepare one with the tools needed to even begin to take on such daunting tasks? While it might not have been intended at the time, the skills and experiences honed during my education, training and practice as a social worker turned out to be among the critical factors that opened a whole world of nontraditional opportunities and challenges to me. The ability to have been moderately successful in meeting those challenges are without question in large part attributable to what I learned while trying to be a good social worker.





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