Pierre Rowen, AM Candidate '13
Not everyone looking at the resume of Pierre J. Rowen would conclude that he has been doing social work all his life. After getting a BA in urban geography, with a minor in mathematics and statistics, and a MA in public affairs, he was a senior housing planner and legislative analyst for the mayor's office in Seattle for five years. He was then at Blue Cross Blue Shield for nearly ten years.
"I've always been in a field sort of like social work. I've been doing assessments and creating plans to manage problems throughout my career. But I longed to be in a position where I could feel that my accomplishments were making a difference. That's why I wanted the education offered by the School of Social Service Administration," Rowen says.
Rowen goes on to say that he was attracted to SSA by its prestige and by being able to get a degree from SSA and a certificate from the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy. He is very comfortable in the Extended Evening Program where his peers also have a depth of experience to share. Fieldwork placements at Leyden Family Service in Franklin Park and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago have afforded Rowen opportunities to build his medical-social work experience, and his next career goal is to practice social work in a health care setting.
"I believe SSA has a national—even global—presence that will prepare its graduates to participate with other team members in making and implementing high-level decisions. I was impressed by the connections with SSA alumni in Washington, D.C. that I was able to make during last year’s Washington Week. I am very happy that I chose to come to SSA," Rowen says.
The chance to be a part of a community of like-minded people who are dedicated to addressing various aspects of health care disparities was one of the reasons Rowen applied for the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. The site for Rowen's yearlong project for the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is Care for Real, a local food/clothing pantry affiliated with the greater Chicago Food Depository. Called Putting Edgewater to Work (PEW), the program provides job readiness, training, and placement to a diverse clientele. Rowen would like to expand the population served, which now includes the homeless, refugees, and disabled veterans—some with limited skills and others with advanced degrees.
"Food insecurity and unemployment are intrinsically linked," Rowen says, "and employment has been shown to be a strong protective factor against mental illness, especially anxiety and depression."
Care for Real is now volunteer based—drawing on those from all walks of life—and Rowen hopes to facilitate collaboration with other local organizations that provide similar resources. He believes that lack of coordination in services that include health care and job training is the biggest obstacle to helping those in vulnerable populations achieve their highest quality of life.
Rowen's interest in health care comes from being a two-time brain tumor survivor. "I have learned to accept the 'new normal' after traveling my four-month journey from wheelchair to standing on my head in yoga. There is a power greater than ourselves that we can tap into—an infinite source of resilience—that fills us with strength to handle adversity. This is the strengths-based perspective I like to bring to my clients," he says.