New 2023 Sarah Duncan Award Nominees Announced

In our continuing celebration of social workers beyond National Social Work Month, we are proud to announce new nominees for the 2nd annual Sarah Duncan Champion for Children and Families Award

For those who submitted a nomination, thank you so much for taking the time to recognize one of your valued colleagues. If you didn’t get a chance to nominate this year: Don’t worry! We are already taking submissions for next year’s award.

And the nominees are...

Shayla Dabney, Mendocino County: Shayla started her career with Mendocino County Family and Children’s Services (FCS) as a college student and social worker assistant. Over the ensuing years, she graduated from college, earned an M.S.W. and a series of promotions, and added two babies to her growing family. Although clearly busy, her nominating colleague specifically commended her commitment to completing emergency transports for transitions of foster children to new placements throughout California, “regardless of the time of day or night.” Her continued dedication to her community, and particularly its more vulnerable population, is appreciated and respected by her team.

Mariela Ramirez, Placer County: Mariela is a relatively new social worker who has demonstrated dedication and commitment as a social worker with Placer County. Her nominating colleague noted how, “Mariela spends time with her families, supporting them in school meetings, meeting with service providers, assisting them in accessing basic needs and helping them to build their natural supports.” Her colleague also noted how her dedication and belief in her families has helped them to gain independence and to advocate for their children. Her colleague declared, “Mariela is a good example of the work that it takes to be an effective child welfare social worker.”

Andrew Wilkenson, Inyo County: Andrew has been a child welfare social worker for four years in Inyo County, a frontier county with many challenges related to geographical isolation pertaining to services and case management. “During the past year,” his nominating colleague shared, “Andrew has seen success with families experiencing domestic violence and substance use; he has improved the quality of life for a sibling group via adoption and a successful housing search; and he's fostered his ability to build consensus and deliver hard facts in a straightforward manner with compassion. I greatly appreciate Andrew's dedication and work ethic. Our agency is a better program because of him.”

Wendy Green, Trinity County: Wendy has been a social worker at Trinity County for less than a year, but her dedication to child welfare goes much deeper. She was a social services aid for seven years, during which time she was an invaluable part of developing and maintaining Trinity County's differential response and family preservation program. Now an emergency response social worker, her nominating colleague commends her engagement strategies and her ability to break down barriers to communication. “Wendy is a champion for child safety,” her colleague wrote, “and making kids feel cared for during some of the most difficult experiences of their lives.”

Laura Uribe, Sacramento County: Laura is recognized by her nominating colleagues for her gift of never missing opportunities to affirm the strengths of her team even during the most difficult times. One colleague noted how this compassionate approach is far from limited to internal staff. “I often hear Laura engaging with children and families,” her colleague wrote. “She listens with a nurtured and non-judgmental heart. Although Laura has a calm and polite demeanor, she demonstrates an unwavering determination to secure the necessary resources and support for her families.”

Elsa Thrower, Sacramento County: Elsa recently moved to Senior & Adult Services in January 2023; prior to that, she was an emergency response social worker for more than 5 years. Noted for caring deeply about service, social justice and human relationships, she was commended for her skill and interest in working with difficult-to-place youth. “Elsa would volunteer on the weekends to take teenagers [in care] on daily outings to get them out of the office and have [fun],” they wrote. “She is a strong representative of a child welfare practitioner [going above and] beyond her job duties.”

Additional Nominees

If you would like to learn about the first slate of nominees, you can read about each of them in our original post.

And the winner is...

...going to be announced soon! Stay tuned to our social media pages and/or our News Blog, where we’ll announce and feature the 2023 Sarah Duncan Champion for Children and Families Award winner.