Voices from the Field: Hospice and Elder Care

This program spotlights social workers from different concentration areas. It will be a one-hour virtual workshop for students not limited to those majoring in social work, alumni, and community partners. Speakers will discuss how they selected social work as their profession, their career journey, where they currently work, the roles and responsibilities they hold/have held, and advice they have for future and current social workers.

Mary Willems-Akers holds a B.S. in Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Social Work from Indiana University. Mary was drawn to the Social Work profession after witnessing firsthand the hardships of the children and families she was working with as a student teacher in Northwest Ohio. For the past 12 years, Mary has worked in the field of Hospice, starting as a field social worker visiting patients and their families in the home setting and later moving into an administrative role; she currently serves as the Director of Support Services for Stillwater Hospice, where she oversees the provision of Social Work, Spiritual Care, Music, and Massage Therapies as well as Grief Counseling and the complementary grief programming offered through the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center. Mary has a passion for Macro Social Work practice and feels that the best way to guide change is by developing policies and procedures that support the most vulnerable among us.

Jessica Curd is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Social Work at Ball State University. She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with extensive experience in hospice practice and leadership. Jessica is nationally certified in palliative and end-of-life care (ACHP-SW, APHSW-C) and has presented nationally and regionally on the critical role of social workers in hospice care, health disparities, and other topics. She earned her PhD from Indiana University School of Social Work, and her research focuses on end-of-life disparities, trauma, intersectionality, and the experiences of individuals with disabilities and neurodiversity. Jessica founded and operates a private counseling practice, Red Wheelbarrow Counseling, which focuses on grief, trauma, caregiving, disability, and neurodivergence.