Faculty and Staff News

Dr. Gino Aisenberg Receives Martin Luther King Award

On Thursday, January 17, 2008, Dr. Eugene (Gino) Aisenberg, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work, received a Martin Luther King Award at an annual celebration of Dr. King’s extraordinary life of service. Every year one recipient is selected from each of the UW Health Sciences schools.

As part of its tribute to Dr. King, the Health Sciences Center honors individuals or groups who exemplify Dr. King’s principles through:

• Commitment to addressing community needs, particularly
  those in low-income and communities of color
• Development and implementation of significant programs to
   improve the human condition
• Outstanding efforts to protect and empower all individuals.

Among the many letters of nomination for Dr. Aisenberg, one colleague wrote:

"In the last six years in the School of Social Work, Dr. Gino Aisenberg has established himself as an engaged educator and inspirational community leader. His exceptional teaching is deeply rooted in the principles of public service and social justice, and he is admired and appreciated by students, faculty, and the community he serves. Gino has many natural gifts, including a sustained commitment to creating a more just world. He has a strong academic knowledge base that he has translated into imparting outstanding cultural competency skills and mentoring students that pervade every part of his teaching, research, and service. In all his work within the academy and wider community, Gino combines his extensive practice experiences and the most current research knowledge with a deep commitment to responsive practice that is culturally sensitive and socially just. Community leaders and practitioners as well as students all speak of encounters with him as “an oasis,” where they feel an integral part of the learning process, and where they feel simultaneously supported, challenged, and inspired. Gino’s real commitment to the larger community is evident in the practicum mentorship of social work students in underserved communities, initiating and supporting the Latino/a Social Work Student Organization, and organizing an annual Latino/a Behavioral Health Conference. Each of these new initiatives for the School of Social Work speaks to the ever-expanding impact of his work. The School’s faculty and students are honored to have Gino as a colleague and scholar-activist. He epitomizes the values and teachings of an extraordinary hero in the movement for social justice, Dr. Martin Luther King."

After Dr. Aisenberg receives his award, he passes by the choir from Leschi Elementary School, which was part of the uplifting entertainment during the awards ceremony.

Vickie Ybarra, RN, MPH, Planning and Development Director of the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, which serves low-income and seasonal farmworker families, said: “Since Dr. Aisenberg joined the University of Washington, he has sought out a relationship with our organization and spent time with us to learn of the needs of our patient population and our communities. Since that time, we’ve worked with him on a number of successful projects related to the mental health needs of our communities. He has contributed his expertise, demonstrated insight into how services might best be provided, and helped our staff gain the skills and capacity to deliver services more effectively. His driving motivation always seems to be ensuring more mental health services to the migrant/seasonal farmworking families in our area that need them the most.

"We are now working with Dr. Aisenberg on a project to reach rural Hispanics in Walla Walla with needed mental health care through our primary care clinics. He has visited our clinic numerous times, has talked with patients and staff, and has put forward extraordinary effort to help ensure that needed services will be in place."