HECMA Member Spotlight
Take this chance to get to know some of our wonderful members, and hear about the great things they are doing in the field of case management!
~ scroll down to see all our spotlights shine ~
Take this chance to get to know some of our wonderful members, and hear about the great things they are doing in the field of case management!
~ scroll down to see all our spotlights shine ~
Meet Luis Balcazar!
Professional Title: Care Manager
Institution: Purdue University
Describe your favorite part of your role: Helping students navigate mental health decisions for the first time.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? As a Care Manager at Purdue’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), I join the office during an exciting time while we look to revamp the position to reflect more that of a Clinical Case Manager. HECMA has been there every step of the way helping me grow as a case manager while also giving me the tools and instruction necessary to guide the process at Purdue’s CAPS.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? The connection to other Case Managers around the country (listserv) is invaluable. Access to information and support off the main website is great as well, but having that constant connection to an active, vibrant community keeps the conversation going and the job exciting.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Connect to your community and find your supports and resources early. No need to reinvent the wheel: Work smarter, not harder!
Please share your favorite quote: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” - Lila Watson
Professional Title: Care Manager
Institution: Purdue University
Describe your favorite part of your role: Helping students navigate mental health decisions for the first time.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? As a Care Manager at Purdue’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), I join the office during an exciting time while we look to revamp the position to reflect more that of a Clinical Case Manager. HECMA has been there every step of the way helping me grow as a case manager while also giving me the tools and instruction necessary to guide the process at Purdue’s CAPS.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? The connection to other Case Managers around the country (listserv) is invaluable. Access to information and support off the main website is great as well, but having that constant connection to an active, vibrant community keeps the conversation going and the job exciting.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Connect to your community and find your supports and resources early. No need to reinvent the wheel: Work smarter, not harder!
Please share your favorite quote: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” - Lila Watson
Meet Julia Phillips!
Professional Title: Assistant Director, Community of Concern
Institution: The University of Kentucky
Describe your favorite part of your role: My favorite part of my role as a case manager is collaborating with other professionals on campus to support the students that the Community of Concern at UK sees. Part of being a case manager means knowing when you need to connect with others in order to promote success and increase the likelihood of retention. This is outlined in the negotiating the system component of the advocacy stage in the Student Affairs Case Management Model as published in “Student Affairs Case Management: Merging Social Work Theory with Student Affairs Practice” (Adams, Hazelwood, Hayden, 2014).
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has meant finding my professional home base. I have learned so much about higher education case management by attending the HECMA roundtable each June for the past three years and by being a member of the Training and Development Committee. I see immense value in attending other student affairs conferences and I will continue to attend such conferences. With that said, I consistently benefit from attending HECMA because every session I attend pertains directly to the work I do every day. It is truly energizing to be surrounded by colleagues who understand my passion and who are working toward the same or similar goals on their own campuses.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? What I have found to be the most valuable part of my HECMA membership is my opportunity to serve on the Training and Development Committee. Serving on this committee has provided me with the chance to do research on ethical standards and learn more about other professional organizations as well as the Council for
I have also found significant value in being able to connect with other HECMA members and learn what initiatives are happening on other campuses. My office at UK has found this invaluable as we look into ways that we can grow and diversify our program.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? My advice to a new higher education case manager would be to constantly work towards advancing your knowledge of higher education case management through your own independent study. Connect with professionals on other campuses, research the websites of other programs, and never stop reading up on mental health issues, legal issues, and threat assessment in higher education.
My advice would also be to join HECMA and pick one or two committees to dedicate your time to. Attending the roundtable is great but you can truly immerse yourself in HECMA by giving back to a committee. You will get out of HECMA what you put into HECMA.
Please share your favorite quote: “In a world where you can be anything…be yourself.”
Professional Title: Assistant Director, Community of Concern
Institution: The University of Kentucky
Describe your favorite part of your role: My favorite part of my role as a case manager is collaborating with other professionals on campus to support the students that the Community of Concern at UK sees. Part of being a case manager means knowing when you need to connect with others in order to promote success and increase the likelihood of retention. This is outlined in the negotiating the system component of the advocacy stage in the Student Affairs Case Management Model as published in “Student Affairs Case Management: Merging Social Work Theory with Student Affairs Practice” (Adams, Hazelwood, Hayden, 2014).
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has meant finding my professional home base. I have learned so much about higher education case management by attending the HECMA roundtable each June for the past three years and by being a member of the Training and Development Committee. I see immense value in attending other student affairs conferences and I will continue to attend such conferences. With that said, I consistently benefit from attending HECMA because every session I attend pertains directly to the work I do every day. It is truly energizing to be surrounded by colleagues who understand my passion and who are working toward the same or similar goals on their own campuses.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? What I have found to be the most valuable part of my HECMA membership is my opportunity to serve on the Training and Development Committee. Serving on this committee has provided me with the chance to do research on ethical standards and learn more about other professional organizations as well as the Council for
I have also found significant value in being able to connect with other HECMA members and learn what initiatives are happening on other campuses. My office at UK has found this invaluable as we look into ways that we can grow and diversify our program.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? My advice to a new higher education case manager would be to constantly work towards advancing your knowledge of higher education case management through your own independent study. Connect with professionals on other campuses, research the websites of other programs, and never stop reading up on mental health issues, legal issues, and threat assessment in higher education.
My advice would also be to join HECMA and pick one or two committees to dedicate your time to. Attending the roundtable is great but you can truly immerse yourself in HECMA by giving back to a committee. You will get out of HECMA what you put into HECMA.
Please share your favorite quote: “In a world where you can be anything…be yourself.”
Meet Alfred Day!
Professional Title: Interim Director of Case Management
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Describe your favorite part of your role: Advocating for students who are perceived to be threatening, but who are in fact just different than the norm.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has been instrumental in providing support and resources for our non-clinical case management approach.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? Both the vast resources in the HECMA library and the network of practitioners nationwide have been critical in our building our office.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? In supporting students it is often our ability to manage fear in a community that is the most effective tool in our tool belt.
Please share your favorite quote: “When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” - Walt Disney
Professional Title: Interim Director of Case Management
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Describe your favorite part of your role: Advocating for students who are perceived to be threatening, but who are in fact just different than the norm.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has been instrumental in providing support and resources for our non-clinical case management approach.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? Both the vast resources in the HECMA library and the network of practitioners nationwide have been critical in our building our office.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? In supporting students it is often our ability to manage fear in a community that is the most effective tool in our tool belt.
Please share your favorite quote: “When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” - Walt Disney
Meet Angela Newland!
Professional Title: Care Manager
Institution: University of Central Florida
Describe your favorite part of your role: The opportunity to grow our resources for students
experiencing homelessness or financial insecurity is so rewarding. When students’ situations improve after having a helping hand to assist I know I am doing what I love!
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has been a place of community to ask questions, share information, and be a part of a growing professional organization. Hosting the annual roundtable this year in Orlando was an unforgettable experience. I’m so happy we had the opportunity to both host the conference and present on some very salient issues.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? The ability to reach out to a community of case managers whenever there is a need for information. The sense of community has been great as well. Whenever a school or community has suffered a tragedy, HECMA colleagues provide outreach that is truly heartwarming.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Get involved in a committee, use the library and attend the annual Roundtable!
Please share your favorite quote: “I am determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have learned that the degree of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not our circumstances.” - Martha Washington
Professional Title: Care Manager
Institution: University of Central Florida
Describe your favorite part of your role: The opportunity to grow our resources for students
experiencing homelessness or financial insecurity is so rewarding. When students’ situations improve after having a helping hand to assist I know I am doing what I love!
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? HECMA has been a place of community to ask questions, share information, and be a part of a growing professional organization. Hosting the annual roundtable this year in Orlando was an unforgettable experience. I’m so happy we had the opportunity to both host the conference and present on some very salient issues.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? The ability to reach out to a community of case managers whenever there is a need for information. The sense of community has been great as well. Whenever a school or community has suffered a tragedy, HECMA colleagues provide outreach that is truly heartwarming.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Get involved in a committee, use the library and attend the annual Roundtable!
Please share your favorite quote: “I am determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have learned that the degree of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not our circumstances.” - Martha Washington
Meet Margarita Leahy!
Professional Title: CAPS Staff Therapist/Clinical Case Manager
Institution: The College of New Jersey
Describe your favorite part of your role: My favorite part of my role is when I successfully connect students to resources that work for them and hearing about their successes and/or seeing improvement in the way that they manage their lives.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? The short version is that it has provided me a place for Collaboration, Consultation, and Comradery (the three C's). My professor of Law and Ethics would always say "The prudent professional always consults." It has saved me so much time in creating processes with this new position by having access to the HECMA library. The institutional knowledge of other higher education case managers, attending the yearly round tables and by staying connected with the listserv has allowed me to feel equipped and confident in my new position.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? Can I say everything? I go back to the three C's. The ability to consult, collaborate, gain comradery, and have access to a nationwide network of case management knowledge.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Join HECMA! If you want to look like a genius in your new position, this is the organization for you...
Please share your favorite quote: "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
Professional Title: CAPS Staff Therapist/Clinical Case Manager
Institution: The College of New Jersey
Describe your favorite part of your role: My favorite part of my role is when I successfully connect students to resources that work for them and hearing about their successes and/or seeing improvement in the way that they manage their lives.
What has HECMA meant for you and your professional development? The short version is that it has provided me a place for Collaboration, Consultation, and Comradery (the three C's). My professor of Law and Ethics would always say "The prudent professional always consults." It has saved me so much time in creating processes with this new position by having access to the HECMA library. The institutional knowledge of other higher education case managers, attending the yearly round tables and by staying connected with the listserv has allowed me to feel equipped and confident in my new position.
What have you found to be most valuable about your HECMA membership? Can I say everything? I go back to the three C's. The ability to consult, collaborate, gain comradery, and have access to a nationwide network of case management knowledge.
What advice would you give a new higher education case manager? Join HECMA! If you want to look like a genius in your new position, this is the organization for you...
Please share your favorite quote: "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
