Two members of the UCLA Luskin Social Welfare community have been honored by the California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA).
Professor Laura Abrams received the Frances Lomas Feldman Award in recognition of her lifetime of work as an educator and researcher. And Aurea Montes-Rodriguez MSW ’99, a vice president at the nonprofit First 5 LA, received the George D. Nickel Award for outstanding professional services by a social worker.
CSWA cited Abrams’ work as an “esteemed social worker who has focused on improving the well-being of youth and adults with histories of incarceration.”
Abrams, introduced by longtime UCLA Luskin Social Welfare colleague Gerry Laviña, told the gathering that she was honored to receive an award named after Feldman, a social work trailblazer in Los Angeles.
“Working over 50 years, from 1940-1992, she had to innovate to a rapidly evolving society, such as the war on poverty, the movements for civil rights that swept the nation and the growing role of women in the workplace,” Abrams said. She called on social workers to follow Feldman’s lead and meet today’s challenges with determination and creativity.
The CSWA awards committee said Montes-Rodriguez “has a passion for building African American and Latino leadership, capacity and strategies that are inclusive and effective toward community transformation.”
After more than 25 years at the nonprofit Community Coalition, she is now vice president of community engagement and policy at First 5 LA, supporting the region’s youngest children and their families and catalyzing public policy efforts at the local, state and federal levels.
A Feb. 27 luncheon celebrated the achievements of Abrams, Montes-Rodriguez and a third honoree, Andrea Garcia, a physician specialist at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Garcia received the George Nickel Award for outstanding contributions to social welfare for her work with American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
