BUFFALO, NY – The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has named Dr. Diane E. Elze, associate professor emeritus at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, a “Pioneer in Social Work,” one of the profession’s highest honors. .
The NASW Social Work Pioneer Program recognizes members who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the social work profession. Else will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., on October 14, along with other influential social workers, including NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Dubois, whose influence will be recognized after his death.
Throughout her 45-year career as a clinician, advocate, educator, and researcher, Else has made a lasting contribution to supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Else’s social work practice experience includes areas of sexual assault and domestic violence, runaway and homeless youth, HIV prevention and incident management, crisis intervention, disability rights advocacy, and community-based services for LGBTQ+ youth. Includes direct service, management and community organizing.
In Maine, where Else began her career, she co-founded several queer advocacy and support organizations, including Maine Lesbian Feminists and Outright Portland, the state’s first queer youth advocacy and advocacy organization. Else helped found the state’s oldest and largest LGBTQ+ political advocacy group, as a founding director of the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance (now Equality Maine). Through her LGBTQ+ newspaper, “Our Paper,” Else and others reported on the growing HIV/AIDS crisis of the early ’80s, provided safe sex education to the community, and promoted politics affecting LGBTQ+ people. was reported.
Else received her master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and her doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis. During her stay in St. Louis, she led efforts to build a more racially diverse community-based LGBTQ+ youth group, secured a grant to expand the program, and created a diverse group of volunteer advisors. has been adopted.
After transitioning into academia, Else’s research and scholarship focused on the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth, LGBTQ+ human rights, and interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
In 2005, she joined the UB School of Social Work as a faculty member and helped move the school forward by inspiring generations of students to pursue their own social work careers. From 2008 until 2019, Ms. Elze served as her Director of the Social Work Master’s Program and led the school through her two successful recertifications by the Council on Social Work Education. Later, as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Else brought restorative practices to the school and developed restorative processes to support students who experienced racism and other forms of oppression in the classroom and in the field.
In December, Else retired from the UB School of Social Work after more than 17 years.
Else previously served on the board of GLYS Western New York for 14 years and continues to contribute her expertise and advocacy as a board member of the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition and Lutheran Community Care Services of Singapore. This is an organization that integrates restorative practices into its services. delivery. She also serves on the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Committee of the Erie County Courthouse Improvement Project.