Washington, D.C. - The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is delighted to name Elvia Krajewski-Jaime, MSW, Ph.D., the 2008 Social Worker of the Year. Dr. Krajewski-Jaime is a dedicated advocate, committed to the needs of Latino and African American elderly and impoverished families with multicultural healthcare needs.
As president of the Organization of Latino Social Workers, she is a role model, standing up for Latino issues such as immigration and healthcare. In order for her students at Eastern Michigan University to understand poverty and health care issues first hand, she established an education exchange program taking social work students to Mexico. This provided them with an experience that will advance their work as social workers.
“Dr. Krajewski-Jaime has made contributions to individuals, families and communities and is an outstanding model for social workers whose commitment is to social change and social justice,” notes Dr. Elizabeth Clark, executive director of NASW.
After immigrating from Mexico, Dr. Krajewski-Jaime earned a Master of Social Work from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a professor at the Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work where she looks to the community needs to guide programming and outreach.
Understanding that social workers need to look to the needs of the area, Dr. Krajewski-Jaime has made sure that the projects she creates at Eastern Michigan focus on the immediate and long-term needs of each community. She created the Research Action Seminar where academics and people from the community gather to learn how to apply theory to practice and how social workers can adjust the modes of delivery to communities.
Funded by the Department of Justice, Dr. Krajewski-Jaime was one of the founders of the Center for Community Building and Civic Engagement, which she currently directs. She also led the HUD-funded Community Outreach Partnership Center, a joint venture between Eastern Michigan University and the surrounding Ypsilanti community. These Centers are guided by Dr. Krajewski-Jaime’s fundamental principles: you are only successful to the extent that, at the end of a particular project, you have left the community stronger and more capable than before.
In addition to her work as a professor of social work at Eastern Michigan University, she is the director of the School of Social Work graduate program.
It is with great honor that NASW recognizes Elvia Krajewski-Jaime, MSW, Ph.D. as 2008 Social Worker of the Year.
For more information about Dr. Krajewski-Jaime, or to set up an interview, please contact NASW Communications at media@naswdc.org or 202-336-8228.
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NASW is the largest association of social workers in the world. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.