Women to Watch Award in Education

Q&A with Education category winner Lori Messinger

The 2014 Women to Watch winner in the Education category is LORI MESSINGER, director of the SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK in the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s College of Health and Human Services.

Messinger started her fourth year as head of UNCW’s School of Social Work this fall. Under her leadership, the school increased the number of majors serving transfer students and the number of military-affiliated students in Jacksonville at a satellite campus. Messinger also has built collaborative relationships with area health providers such as New Hanover Regional Medical Center, New Hanover County health department, and Med North.

W: What inspired you to pick the field you’re in now? Messinger: “I worked and volunteered in rape crisis and domestic violence programs during my graduate program in political science at Rutgers, and I started to realize that there was a profound disconnect between the work I was doing and my area of study. I then met my partner, who was a practicing social worker at the time, and learned more about the field of social work. I got excited about the possibility of studying, doing research, and preparing students in a field that helps address the serious social problems in our communities by building on individual, family, and community strengths and advocating for policy change. It is the best of all worlds for me. I have never regretted becoming a social worker and a social work academic.”

W: What do you hope to be doing in the years to come?

"I see myself working here or elsewhere to build stronger universities that better serve our communities, our students, and our state. I want to continue to build on the strengths of the UNCW School of Social Work and our community-based projects in Wilmington, Jacksonville, and the surrounding areas, and I want to do what I can to make UNCW and the College of Health and Human Services function even more effectively for everyone, including our own faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I also am always working to improve myself, through a better work-life balance and honing my skills so I can be a more effective and caring leader.”

W: If you could host a dinner party with other women — famous or not, living or dead — who would they be? Messinger: “I would love to bring together women leaders from the past who made a difference in our country and the world. These would include Jane Addams, one of the foremothers of social work; Ida Wells-Barnett, an effective anti-lynching activist; Ella Baker, a civil rights activist who empowered students to engage in advocacy; Golda Meir, the first woman prime minister of Israel; Audre Lorde, black lesbian feminist warrior poet and activist; and Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady and activist in her own right. I would like to talk to them about how they motivated others, how they managed the burdens of leadership, and how they kept the faith during times of personal and professional challenge. I have read books by and about each of them, and I believe they each have much to offer about how to work for change and make the world a better place for everyone.”

W: What has being named a finalist, and a now winner, in the Women to Watch awards meant for you personally and professionally? Messinger: “I was so surprised and humbled to be selected a finalist, let alone a winner, for the education category. I gained so much meeting the other finalists, especially those in the education category, learning about their current projects and activities, building my own local network of contacts in this area. I found out about the decision while attending a professional conference for social work educators, and it reinforced for me why I engage in my research and present it to others. I want to make a difference, and this recognition helps me to move forward in that pursuit. I hope it will also help shine a light on the wonderful work going on at UNCW College of Health and Human Services. I am very proud of the faculty, staff, and students with whom we work, and I think we consistently contribute to making Wilmington and the Cape Fear area an even better place to live.”

W: If there's anyone you'd like to thank in relation to the award or any other comments to share: Messinger: “I would like to thank Dr. Charles Hardy, founding dean of the UNCW College of Health and Human Services, for nominating me for this award; Ms. Jana Jones Halls for speaking so kindly about me at the awards ceremony; and Ms. Ana Eusse, an outstanding UNCW MSW student and WILMA scholarship recipient, for receiving the award in my absence. I would also like to thank my partner — and now legally recognized spouse — Ms. Boo Tyson for the 23+ years of ongoing love and support that make my work possible.”

To view more of photographer Katherine Clarks work, go to www.katherineclarkphotography.com.