Venessa Ann Brown
Box 1450
Edwardsville, IL 62026-1450
(618) 650-2450
Email: (vbrown@siue.edu)

Professional Objective:

A teaching position utilizing my education and extensive experience in the areas of child welfare services and computer information systems. Education: Ph.D. in Social Work, Planning, Administration and Social Science
Clark-Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1994

Master of Computer Information Systems
Clark-Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia
anticipated completion Fall '2000

Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1985

Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (B.A.)
Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois, 1983

 Professional Experience:

8/95 to        Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
present        Assistant Professor of Social Work:

Undergraduate Courses Taught:
Foundations of Social Work Practice I
Social Work Practice I
Child Welfare Law in Social Work
Graduate Courses Taught:
Descriptive Statistics
Child Welfare Advance Practice with Children and Families
Generalist Practice
8/93 to 8/95 Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois
                   Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Work:
Courses Taught:
Introduction to Social Work
Issues in Aging
Fields of Social Work
Family Social Work
Juvenile Delinquency
Statistics
Child Welfare
Social Welfare Agencies
Law in Social Work
7/85 to 8/93 Dekalb County Department of Family and Children Services, Decatur, Georgia.
Social Service Specialist II: Performed work of considerable difficulty in the investigation and assessment of reporting child neglect, abuse, and exploitation. Contacted the reporter, reviewed prior reports and records. Conducted face-to-face interviews with the child, the parents, and other family members. Based on the information gathered, assessed the immediate risk to the child. Where risk exists determined the type of intervention required to ensure the safety of the child. In sexual abuse cases, conducted a joint video taped interview with the police. Provided testimony and made recommendations to the Juvenile Court. Maintained written documentation of all contacts throughout the investigation and assessment process.
8/90 to 5/93 Clark Atlanta University School of Social Work, Atlanta, Georgia.
Peer Tutor: Tutor and assist Master and Doctoral level students in understanding the basic functions and use of the computer; data entry; logging-in and logging-out; using the mainframe (VAX) and P.C.'s; and creating, merging and editing files.
9/92 to 5/93 Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Teacher Assistant (TA): Assist in preparing and lecturing in an undergraduate social work course titled "Child Welfare Issues and Child Abuse."
1987-1989 Technology Institute, Inc., Dunwoody, Georgia. Interviewer: Conducted interviews and gathered data on individuals who were experiencing domestic violence in the home. This was for the purpose of finding out what happens to families during and after police intervention involving domestic violence. 3/89 to 4/90 Laurel Heights Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia Mental Health Counselor III - Intensive Treatment
Provided counseling to adolescents in a psychiatric hospital. Assisted in the intake process of patients. Charted on clientts behavior and progress nightly. Answered telephones and performed other administrative tasks as required. 1984-1985 Families First, Atlanta, Georgia M.S.W. Intern (2nd year): Assigned to the foster care and family counseling units. Conducted family and individual sessions. Also co-lead group sessions for boys group home. Received extensive training in the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, on-going staff training in family counseling, sexual abuse, and different treatment modalities. Group leader for the Prevention of Pregnancy Program. Familiar with the use of audio-visual equipment as a treatment modality. 1983-1984 Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia. M.S.W. Intern (lst year): Assigned to the Oncology Unit. Interviewed and counseled individuals and families, coordinated community services for patients, coordinated medical equipment for children and adults. Hospice volunteer. Worked under the interdisciplinary team approach. Attended seminars on death and dying. Awards/Memberships:
1983 Awarded the J. E. Hollister award for Community Service
1983 Selected Outstanding Young Woman of America
1986 Licensed Master Social Work
1987 Member of Advisory Board for Dekalb County EOA
1988 Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
1989 Member of Georgia Child Welfare Association
1990 Child Welfare Employee of the Month
1991 Member of North American Association of Christians in Social Work
1991 Member of Council On Social Work Education
1993 Member of National Association of Social Workers
1993 Chair, National Christian Multi-Cultural Student Leadership Conference
1995 Member of Advisory Board for Focus on the Family Institute, Family Studies Program
1995 Member of Human Relations Board for Federal Bureau of Prisons (Greenville, IL)
Paper Presentations: 1996 "Employment In Public Child Welfare: What's the Reality9"; a paper presented at the Annual Child Welfare Conference, Memphis, Tenn., September.

1993 "Employment In Public Child Welfare: Implications for the practitioner"; a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Sociology, St. Louis, MO., October.

 Published Papers: 1998 "Employment in Public Child Welfare: What is the Reality?", The Annual Child Welfare Conference Proceedings, SIUC.

1997 "From one Hand to Another: The Story of a Sexually Abused Child's Strength and Courage", Reflection: A Journal for the Helping Professions.

1997 "Empowerment: An Effective Element in the Classroom", Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Graduate School.

  1997 Co-Authored with Dr. Jennifer Hamer, "Understanding, Respecting, and Valuing Diversity in the Classroom", Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Graduate School. Workshop Presentations: 1998 Titanically Speaking: Sink or Swim; a workshop presented at the 12 Annual National Multicultural Student Leadership Conference at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, November.

1998 Who's Mentoring Students of Color in Christian Higher Education? A workshop presented at the 12th Annual National Multicultural Student Leadership Conference at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, November.

1998 "Who Am I?: Building Self Esteem in Women"; a workshop presented at the Annual Women's Day Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, May.

1997 "Building a Strong Self Image"; a workshop presented to Catholic Charities Self-Sufficiency Program, Waukegan, Illinois, October.

1997 "Incorporating Service Learning into Humanities and Social Sciences't; a workshop presented at the Faculty Symposium on Service Learning, April.

1996 "Ethics in Research: Cognitive Development IssuePerfectionism"; a workshop presented with Drs John Danley and Robert Wolf for the Undergraduate Research Academy, November.

1996 "Prevention Programing: Building A Supportive Community For Youth At-Risk"; a workshop presented at the Protecting Families, Protecting Children: Research and Practice Conference at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, April.

1996 "Changes in American Families", a workshop presented at the Dialogue With Senior Citizens Program at SIUE, March.

1994 "From Gangs to College"; a workshop presented at the Annual L. I. V. E. Conference, Springfield, Illinois, September.

1994 "Conflict Resolutiont'; a workshop presented at the Greenville High School Teen Leadership Conference, Greenville, Illinois, September.

1993 "God not Gangs"; a workshop presented at the Bond County Teen Leadership Conference, Greenville, Illinois, March.

 Grants Awarded: 1998 ''African American Junior Faculty Mentoring Programi' Grant awarded by the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Office of Social and Cultural Affairs, $10,000.00

1997 "Clinical Practice Retraining Grant" Grant awarded by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, $39,000.00

1995 "Take A Break" Grant awarded by the State of Illinois and the Illinois Campus Compact for Community Service, $7000.00

 Grants Submitted: 1998 SIUE Summer Research Fellowship (SRF): A Grant Proposal, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, $6,000.

l998 Learn and Serve Faculty Fellows Program: A Grant Proposal, Illinois Campus Compact for Community Service, $4,000.

1998 "Growing Ideals": first Annual SIUE Social Work Student Conference: A Grant Proposal, Council on Social Work Education: Millennium Project, $5,000.

1998 Teenage Intervention pregnancy Follow-Up: A Grant Proposal, Children and Family Research Center, $19,977.

1996 "The African American Faculty Mentor and Retention Program at SIUE: A Grant Proposal," The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, $66,350.

1996 The African American Faculty Mentor and Retention Program at SIUE: A Grant Pre-Proposal, McGraw Foundation, $67,579.

1996 The African American Faculty Mentor and Retention Program at SIUE: A Grant Pre-Proposal, RGK Foundation, $67,57g.

1996 The African American Faculty Mentor and Retention Program at SIUE: A Grant Pre-Proposal, The Henry Luce Foundation, $67,579.

 University Committees
Faculty Senate
College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Planning Committee
CAS Budget Sub-committee
University Police Committees
Service-Learning Committee
Department Committees
Director of MSW Admissions
Chair, MSW Children and Families Concentration
MSW (Graduate) Curriculum and Planning Committee
Educational Travel:
1994 Summer Study in Dominican Republic to study Spanish
Computer Knowledge & Software:
Pascal, C++, Lisp, SPSS/SPSS-PC, Word Perfect, Lotus Works
Microsoft and other current processing packages