My name is Monica Furey. I have had a number of roles in my life, including assistant clinical professor, clinical social worker, school board member, past-president of the Colorado Association of School Boards, past Interim MSW Field Education Director, and mother, daughter and sister. I received my PhD in Educational Leadership here at UCCS, Master's in Social Work from the University of Texas--Austin, a Master's in English from Georgetown University, and a BS in German from Georgetown University. I love teaching and learning!

Faculty Background/Experience

Prior to joining academia, I worked in Washington, DC's Department of Human Services with abused children. I was a social work fellow in the Yale Child Study Center and went on to a faculty position in the Yale Child Study Center's HIV-Affected Children and Families Program, offering community based therapy as well as traditional case management services to children and families, and was a therapist in a long-term children's group. I also had my own private practice at that time.

After moving to Colorado Springs in 2003, I became active in public schools. I was elected to the Cheyenne Mountain School District Board of Education in 2013, and elected president in 2017. I was elected to the Colorado Association of School Boards Board of Directors in 2015, elected president in 2018. I serve on multiple committees, councils, and boards at the local, state and national level.

It has been an honor to attend UCCS, and now be a member of the UCCS Social Work team. With these amazing opportunities in the social work program, I am able to integrate my passion for leadership, community organization and social work. It is a privilege to serve the students, staff, faculty, and community at UCCS as part of the talented CPS team.

My areas of interest include:

• Resilience
• Positive psychology
• Human growth and development
• Children, families and schools
• Strengths based interventions
• Clinical social work
• Issues pertaining to gender, trauma, and life transitions