Ezra Buchdahl, MSW ’88 - Alumni of the Year Award
Ezra Buchdahl has been with Catholic Charities of Baltimore for over 33 years. He worked as a clinician, clinical supervisor, and Associate Administrator for the Center for Family Services Treatment Foster Care program for the first 13 years. For 3 years, he worked as an Administrator in Catholic Charities SeniorLife Services Division, where he provided administrative oversight for their Medical Adult Day Services Program, two Senior Independent Living Programs, and an Information and Referral Program. For the past 20 years, he has worked in the Family Services Division, first serving as the Associate Administrator for St. Vincent’s Center and then Administrator for St. Vincent’s Villa, Villa Maria School and the Adoptions programs. His “side job” and one that brings him great joy and satisfaction is serving as the Primary Handler for a rehabilitative facility dog, CARMEN. They work together to provide calm and comfort to the children, their families, and staff.
He received his B.A. at University of Maryland Baltimore County and M.S.W. from University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Social Work. He currently serves as Chair of the Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth RTC Coalition and served on the UMAB School of Social Work’s Alumni Board from 2015 to 2021. He served as an Accreditation Reviewer for the Council on Accreditation (COA) from 2004 to 2010. He received the Catholic Charities Mission in Action Award in 2014.
Ezra credits his parents, Rabbi Gustav and Sheila Buchdahl, for laying the foundation for servant leadership and working for social justice. He is the proud father of Max, who is rabbinical school, and Sara, who will soon be going to graduate school for social work. He is also grateful for the love and support of his wife, Shelley Manner.
Debra A. Linsenmeyer is a graduate of both the University of Maryland School of Social Work’s BSW program at UMBC (1974) and the Master of Social Work Program in Baltimore (1975) and holds a post-graduate certificate in Human Services Management.
Shanda is a licensed Social Worker who is committed to promoting equity and opportunity for vulnerable and oppressed communities in Baltimore, Maryland. She has provided services to vulnerable individuals for over 20 years and was inspired to join the helping profession by her two late brothers who were born with physical and developmental disabilities. Shanda prides herself on being a multi – faceted Social Worker – serving in roles with multiple organizations as well as pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors in health, housing, and finance to meet the needs of the community via her business Zen LATELY.
Lee Westgate, MSW, MBA, LCSW-C (he/ him/ his) is the Manager of Policy & Advocacy at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Mr. Westgate is an out transgender advocate with extensive professional experience in social work policy, practice, research, and education. Mr. Westgate serves as a faculty member at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and his scholarship includes integrated behavioral health, clinical work with LGBTQIA+ populations, medical social work, healthcare policy, and health equity. He serves as the social work faculty representative in MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center’s Preparing the Future program on behalf of the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and most recently participated in a HRSA-sponsored workgroup on COVID and HIV. Mr. Westgate has received the Exemplary Faculty Member of the Year Award and the Dean’s Teaching Award for several semesters taught and has been featured in a variety of publications.
Elizabeth (Liz) Aparicio, PhD, MSW, LCSW-C (UMB SSW PhD ‘14) is an assistant professor in the Behavioral and Community Health department in the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She directs the Community THRIVES Lab, a research group that conducts Community-engaged Transformative Health Research at the Intersection of family Violence, Early childhood, and adolescent Sexual health intervention. She is also the deputy director for clinical training and intervention for the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center. Dr. Aparicio is a community-engaged scholar whose work aims to improve health equity through informing and testing mental health and sexual and reproductive health interventions for trauma-affected and marginalized children, youth, and families. Using a trauma-informed care and reproductive justice framework, she has particular expertise in addressing the mental health and sexual and reproductive health needs of youth in and formerly in foster care and youth experiencing homelessness. Her research has been funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, NIH, CDC, and U.S. HHS Office of Population Affairs.
Seema Shah-Nelson is a Community School Coordinator with SWCOS’s Positive Schools Center, working in the field at George Washington Elementary School in Baltimore City’s Pigtown neighborhood. She was raised in New England and received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College in Ohio. As a young adult, she lived in New York City where she worked in non-fiction publishing and later earned a degree and started a career in interior design. She started her family in the rural mountains of upstate New York, before moving to Baltimore City a decade ago and launching into a new career in social work. She is deeply dedicated to her adopted home of Baltimore City and its children and families. Her inspiration comes from her own two children, her spouse, all the adults who love, raise, and cultivate young people, and most of all— from the next generation of change makers.