Just before the spring semester kicked into full gear, Fordham GSS faculty contributed to 30+ presentations at this year's Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

We were proud to have such a robust Fordham representation at this year's event. Our faculty, students, and alumni research focused on some of society’s most pressing issues, including generative artificial intelligence, gender and sexuality, and food insecurity, among many others. 

View the full list of Fordham GSS SSWR 2026 presentations at the button below. 

Food insecurity means many things to a community. It can mean there is a scarcity of physical products. It can mean that the available food is inadequate or contributes to the development of chronic illness. It can mean prioritizing paying the rent bill over the purchase of healthy foods. 

In the South Bronx, 39% of adults face food insecurity—the highest rate in New York State. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) addresses a vital gap in food security by providing assistance to low-income households.

However, recent federal budget cuts threaten the security of SNAP funding. Proposals for city-run grocery stores highlight the urgency of food access in New York City. 

GUEST LECTURER
Roleplay and Research: Documentary Director Proves Impacts of Qualitative Research Methods

Kenyon Phillips ’25 MSW wanted to set an example for his two young children, but he was drained. After years in marketing and advertising, cooking up ideas to sell the next product, work now came with a sense of dread – and it impacted his home life. 

Phillips knew he wasn’t expressing his full potential in his career. And that feeling – when you know so much of you isn’t seeing the light of day – can wear on anyone. 

“I didn’t want my kids to have a dad who resented what he did for a living,” he said. “I didn’t want to model that. I knew I had so much more to offer.” 

Anita Quinn ’89 MSW worked with numerous young men as a social worker following her graduation from Fordham’s MSW program, witnessing firsthand the negative effects that can result when men lack mentors in their lives. 

Current popular culture is increasingly highlighting this phenomenon. Countless articles, podcasts, and news outlets have covered the “masculinity crisis” in great detail—informing the public that the issue is nationwide and getting worse. Men, they say, are falling prey not only to their own discontent with the world but to the ideals of misogynistic male influencers looking to capitalize on their vulnerability. 

Anita wants to help these young men. But they need a positive example-setter. Someone who reflects a standard society can be proud of.   

So, she wrote a book describing that someone.

At the start of the fall semester, Fordham GSS hosted an educational panel for MSW students, which discussed the diverse opportunities for social workers in Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) practice. 

The panel featured multiple GSS alumni currently working in the IBH space, who provided practical insight and strategic advice for students interested in pursuing this path. 

When Hilary Jacobs Hendel reflects on a lifetime of learning, one lesson jumps out. It centers on emotions—how they show up, why we tamp them down, what that suppression can do to us and others.

“A light bulb went off, and it moves me to tears still to think about it,” says Hendel ’04 MSW. “My mind was reorganized in that moment.”

A psychotherapist, author, teacher, parent, and sought-after speaker, Hendel is a crusader for emotions education. Now, with a new book, Parents Have Feelings, Too: A Guide to Navigating Your Emotions So You and Your Family Can Thrive, she and co-author Juli Fraga bring priceless insights directly to the aid of families.

Read the full article on the Fordham Magazine website.

Staronyata Davis ’27 MSW says a social worker brought light into her life as a child. That’s why she’s now entering her second decade working in social services, and why she’s come to Fordham to pursue an MSW degree.

What’s more: Davis will earn her degree on a full scholarship, thanks to the Centennial Scholarship—a joint initiative between Fordham GSS and Catholic Charities.

The Scholarship, created in 2018, honors the two institutions’ 100-year collaboration to help New Yorkers in need and provides full tuition for an MSW degree to the recipient. One student is chosen each year.

Davis started the MSW program this fall as a full-time student at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. We sat down with her to discuss the emotions of receiving this opportunity and what she hopes to accomplish after graduation. 

The US health care system is, unfortunately, extremely complicated to navigate. This results in disparities in care between patients, which causes many to suffer. 

From the individual to the policy level, social workers serve as advocates to enhance care and make systemic change to improve outcomes. And in Associate Professor Dr. Rahbel Rahman-Tahir’s Health Care Policy and Advocacy course, Fordham MSW students train to become real-world champions of patient equity. 

We're revisiting a story about a group of 2025 graduates who participated in this coursework and created impactful projects addressing eating disorders, Medicare issues, postpartum rights, and older adult health care.

Beginning this fall, eight first-year MSW students will participate in a program that gives future social workers hands-on experience helping communities across New York City and the Hudson Valley. 

The Frances Perkins Fellowship, offered by Episcopal Charities, provides MSW students with internships that focus on critical issues like food access, housing, and youth education. Named for the New Deal-era workers’ rights advocate, the fellowship pairs interns with partner organizations—such as soup kitchens, after-school programs, and churches—where they can earn the 450 first-year field education hours required for licensure. Funded by a donation to Episcopal Charities from a retired Manhattan social worker, the fellowship provides participants with a $3,000 stipend.