LIFT

Betty comes to LIFT after a 36-year career with the federal government in the Department of Veterans Affairs. She worked in three VA medical centers in the New York metropolitan area, serving in a wide variety of clinical, administrative and management positions.

In her most recent assignment, Betty was responsible for the management of a number of residential and outpatient treatment programs which served veterans struggling with substance abuse disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, as well as homelessness and unemployment. She developed internal initiatives and community partnerships which provided veterans with access to affordable housing and job training and placement.

As an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work she teaches clinical practice.

Betty received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the City College of New York and her MSW from Columbia University. She also has a Masters degree in Health Care Management from New York University and is a NYS Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor.

As a social worker, she finds LIFT’s strengths-based social justice model very much in sync with her own values and is particularly drawn to LIFT’s community based approach and its long range impact on society through exposing college students to the realities of poverty, racism & classism in America. Betty oversees the operations of the local LIFT site in The Bronx and works with LIFT’s local community and university partners.