---

Sherdena D. Cofield, MSW, Ed.D.
Director, Urban Leadership Program

Simmons College
School of Social Work
300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
Office: Room: P-408D
Phone: 617/521-3924
FAX: 617/521-3986
Email: sherdena.cofield@simmons.edu

Academic Degrees:

Ed.D.: Boston University School of Education
M.S.W.: Michigan State University
B.A.: Ashland College

Curriculum Vita

Course(s):

Leadership Skills for Social Work Practice

Personal Statement:

I have over 30 years of social work experience in clinical and academic settings. Currently I am the director of the Urban Leadership Program at Simmons College School of Social Work. In that capacity, I advise and mentor students, collaborate with the admissions office, field education office, the Urban Leadership advisory committee, and School of Social Work faculty and students to market the Urban Leadership Program both inside and outside the college. I usually teach a semester-long course, “Leadership Skills for Social Work Practice” to second year social work students, and I develop and manage mini courses for students. I am a member of the School of Social Work Curriculum Committee, I work with leadership faculty to develop course content for two leadership courses, and conduct seminars for field education faculty. I am also the project director for an ePortfolio Project at the School of Social Work. This year I will chair the Professional Education Committee at the School and serve as the liaison to the School of Management for the collaborative M.S.W./M.B.A. degree. I will also work with the Simmons Department of Education to develop a certification program for school social work.

Prior to coming to the Simmons School of Social Work, I held positions at Boston University and Bunker Hill Community College. At the Boston University School of Social Work, she was the assistant dean for continuing education. There, among many other accomplishments, I directed the largest social work continuing education program in the United States and established the School's first weekend off-campus master's degree program. At the Boston University School of Medicine I developed and directed programs for high school students who were interested in pursuing medicine as a career. I also developed and managed recruitment, admission, and retention activities for the Early Medical School Selection Program, the medical school's primary minority recruitment program. At Bunker Hill Community College, I developed and marketed non¬credit courses and certificate programs based on community and workforce development needs and managed all aspects of the Basic English as a Second Language program with over 1,000 students and 50+ faculty per year.

I have also had experience in consulting to non-profit organizations and clinical practice. My consulting experience includes proposal evaluation, agency assessments identifying management challenges and opportunities and developing appropriate action plans, conducting needs assessments and focus groups, strategic planning, and program and process evaluations. My clinical practice experience includes clinical practice, supervisory and administrative positions in out-patient psychiatry, in-patient medicine and children's services in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Brooklyn, New York and Boston, Massachusetts.

I serve on the Board of Directors of the Executive Service Corp. of New England, the Board of Advocates of Bay Cove Human Services, and the Citizens Advisory Board of the Charles River West office of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation.