Dina Pilgrim Appointed Interim Assistant Dean for Practicum Education

Earlier this summer, Dina Pilgrim, LMSW, Clinical Associate Professor, was appointed Interim Assistant Dean for Practicum Education. In her new role she brings an enormous amount of experience and expertise and has made pivotal contributions in her most recent role as Assistant Director of Practicum Education. 

Dina joined the SSW in 2013 as a Clinical Assistant Professor, serving in the role of Field Education Coordinator. In 2018, she was appointed as Assistant Director for Field Education, and was promoted to Clinical Associate Professor in 2023. Dina graduated with her MSW from NYU in 2000, and is currently pursuing her DSW in the University of Buffalo's online program, with an anticipated completion date in 2025. In addition to her work in practicum education at SBU and in other schools prior, Dina's social work practice experience is rich and extensive, spanning over 20 years, and a variety of roles and settings. Previously she served as Director of Social Work at the Urban Justice Center/Domestic Violence Project and she has also provided direct services to diverse populations of individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan, and in a variety of practice settings including, early intervention programming with children and families, case management and counseling for children, families, and foster parents, counseling services for older adults and people with disabilities, and forensic social work with court-involved families, to name some. Dina's contributions to the SSW and to the social work profession have significant reach and depth of impact.

Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) Receives National Recognition as Winner of 2024 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC):

Promoting Community-Academic Partnerships through an Innovative Interprofessional Team Based Model

At the eighth anniversary of the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Collaboration Award, The Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) was acknowledged for its teamwork and impact on improved community outcomes. HeLP began in 2020 with about 800 student-patron interactions per academic year and has grown steadily since then. Student teams deliver health programs and case management under the supervision of faculty preceptors, at no cost to libraries or patrons. 

The partnership between Stony Brook’s Health Sciences schools and Suffolk public libraries enhances the health and well-being of residents through library programming and collection, development and dissemination of information on current health topics. HeLP partners with the Suffolk Cooperative Library System and 12 local public libraries. Amy C. Hammock, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, SSW and Core Faculty, Program in Public Health and Leah Topek-Walker, LCSW-R, Clinical Assistant Professor, were honored in collaboration with faculty in the Schools of Nursing, Health Professions, the Renaissance School of Medicine and the Health Sciences Library.