By Meghan McCarthy
Over twenty years ago, Felicia Greenfield, MSW, LCSW, was an observant English teacher in Durham, North Carolina. Each day, Greenfield returned home from school impassioned. Watching how past and present traumas impacted teens in the classroom, she questioned how to cultivate a rich learning environment for her students.
Her curiosity extended beyond the classroom, spurred by her relationship with her then landlord who worked in child welfare and introduced her to social work. Greenfield soon embraced her newfound career path, moving to Philadelphia in 2001 to ultimately pursue a Master of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania, where she had since made her professional home.
A Student and self-starter
Originally not intending to stay at Penn past graduate school, Greenfield juggled research coordinator roles in various departments while earning her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree part-time. While she started out in rheumatology, a research coordinator position at the Penn Memory Center (PMC) piqued her interest.
“Both of my grandparents on my father’s side died from Alzheimer’s,” Greenfield said. “The job had a more meaningful connection to me than my role in rheumatology.”
Hired by Christopher Clark, MD, in 2006, Greenfield began her career focused on research administration and was later promoted to oversee regulatory compliance for PMC studies. Still, Greenfield planned to work with children and youth as a social worker. As her MSW graduation approached in 2008, Greenfield informed Steve Arnold, MD, PMC new director at the time, of her impending leave, but Dr. Arnold was not ready to let the talent go.
Arnold pitched the idea of Greenfield starting a social work program at PMC. While this was not the plan, Greenfield was grateful for the opportunity and decided it was one that she could ultimately not pass up.
PMC Social Work Program blossoms
In its beginnings, the program started out small.
Greenfield became educated on the resources families could benefit from at the time of diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs).
In clinic, she would sit with families to help process diagnostic information and provided a packet of resource materials.
“It was exciting because I like building things from the ground up,” she said. “I didn’t necessarily have a vision for PMC at that time. I just wanted to learn what it took to be a good social work clinician.”
Slowly but surely, Greenfield did develop a vision.