The USC School of Social Work has announced the appointment of Micki Gress, PhD to senior clinical fellow in field education. This newly created position is a first at USC and for any social work program in the United States.

Gress' new role will be to lead the development of evidence-based practice in field education, with a primary focus on the recovery model in mental health, probation and child welfare. She will be housed in the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services, the school's interdisciplinary research center, but also maintain a role in teaching and advising in field education.

"We believe this new appointment will bring distinction to the school and allow us to remain among the first to apply translational science and intervention research principles to field education," said Dean Marilyn Flynn.

Gress has been a field educator for 25 years, with prior experience working with children in residential treatment and severely and persistently mentally ill adults. Her career at USC as assistant dean for field education has been characterized by community outreach and a commitment to reshaping the concepts and methods of field education.

She currently collaborates with the school's associate dean for research in a pilot project using interns to introduce new evidence-based practices in one of Los Angeles' foremost private agencies. As a fellow, she will continue to lead and extend this experiment to other major settings and disseminate this experience to field educators throughout the country. The clinical fellow in field education receives a research stipend from the school in addition to other forms of support that advance the aims of this appointment.