Social Work Department

CAPT Jeasmine Aizvera is a Supervisory Social Worker within the SWD. She specializes in Performance Improvement, Clinical Quality, and collaborates regularly to enhance information systems for patient care and workload/productivity tracking. CAPT Aizvera received her Masters of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work in 1993. Prior to joining the NIH Clinical Center, she worked in community mental health with children, adolescents, and adults. Throughout her time at the Clinical Center, she has provided clinical care to patients living with chronic and rare infectious diseases and has worked with child/adolescent behavioral health teams. CAPT Aizvera has supervised social work staff assigned to various research teams and programs throughout the CC. She has trained numerous students, interns, and social work staff. In addition to her supervisory and program management tasks, she continues to provide clinical services to patients on a limited basis.

Brenda J. Robles is a California State Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) with 27 years of experience in Simultaneous, Consecutive and Conference Interpreting in healthcare and law. Robles serves as the Language Interpreters Program Manager at the NIH CC since 2008. Robles conducts trainings in Effective Cross Cultural Medicine, LEP patients and Informed Consent, Communication as a matter of patient safety, and the role of medical interpreters in the interdisciplinary team. In June 2017, Robles presented at Harvard University by invitation of The Cervantes Institute and The Royal Academy of Medicine of Spain on Effective Communication Practices between monolingual doctors and LEP populations in clinical research. Robles’ publication collaborations include "Teaching Medical Spanish to Improve Population Health: Evidence for Incorporating Language Education and Assessment in U.S. Medical Schools." Health Equity Journal, https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0028 and “Strategies for Teaching Linguistic Preparedness for Physicians: Medical Spanish and Global Linguistic Competence in Undergraduate Medical Education.” Health Equity Journal, https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0029.

Ms. Robles received a BA in French Literature from the University of California Riverside with minor in International Relations. She was an Education Abroad Scholar from 1989 - 1990 at L’Université de Poitiers, France, Department of Literature & Languages and the College of Law & Social Sciences. She received her Certificate in Professional Interpretation and Translation from The University of California Riverside, Extension Program. She is also credentialed as a Certified Medical Interpreter. Ms. Robles is highly committed to the core values of stewardship, mentorship, community service, diversity, cultural competence, as well as equal rights and advocacy for underserved minority populations.

Ms. Shaina Alvarez received her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Maryland. Prior to coming to NIH, Ms. Alvarez worked as a bilingual social worker at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC where she helped pediatric patients and their families cope with chronic and acute illnesses. She also provided mental health services and crisis intervention. Ms. Alvarez co-led the continuing education program and supervised social work interns.

Ms. Julie Angel completed her Bachelor of Social Work from Grand Valley State University in 2002 where she started her career in the non-profit sector working with patients and families living with cancer. She also obtained her Masters of Social Work degree from Grand Valley State University in 2005 and became an advocate for those living in long-term care. Ms. Angel started her work in health care in 2008 with the University of Michigan Health System (now Michigan Medicine), where she had a variety of experience working with patients and families in critical care, otolaryngology, urology and pulmonary. Ms. Angel relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in 2016 to continue her work in health care at Medstar Washington Hospital Center where she spent 3 years working with neurosurgery and stroke populations. She transitioned to George Washington University Hospital in 2019 with a focus in oncology before coming to the NIH Clinical Center in May of 2020 where she continues her work with oncology patients.

Kimberly Cate works with the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Lab of Immunoregulation and the Lab of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM). She also works with various other NIAID teams in a shared assignment with Eva Crawford. Prior to her time at the NIH/CC, Kimberly worked at Johns Hopkins for several years with inpatient psychiatry and substance use disorders.

Ms. Eva Crawford received her Master’s degree in Social Work at the National Catholic School of Social Service and has been working at the Clinical Center since 2019. Prior to joining the NIH, she worked as a medical social worker in both home-based and clinic-based dialysis centers in Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD. Ms. Crawford works with NIAID and the NHLBI Lab of Chronic Airway Infection.

Mrs. Meghan Co earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ in 2013. Since that time, Mrs. Co has worked in the field of medical social work in the Washington, DC area. She has extensive experience in disaster response, community mental health, discharge planning, and medical social work. Mrs. Co’s primary interests are end of life care and health care policy. She joined The NIH Clinical Center in 2020 and currently supports patients and protocols on the ICU.

Jennifer Davies Hendricks received a BA in Psychology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1986 and a Masters in Social Work from Florida State University, Tallahassee in 1989. Much of her career has been in the acute medical rehabilitation area serving as a social worker, case manager and then in management. Ms. Hendricks joined the NIH Clinical Center Social Work Department in 2011 working with individuals and their caregivers receiving treatment through several bone marrow transplant teams.

Sarah Hoffman received her Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Social Work from the University of Alabama School of Social Work. She has worked in the field of social work for over 10 years. Prior to joining NIH, Sarah worked at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. Sarah has extensive experience in medical social work, complex discharge planning, and geriatric social work. Sarah works with Post-Transplant and Non-Transplant Sickle Cell patients and supports patients on the 5th floor units.

Ms. Hunter earned her MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 2012. She also earned her drug and alcohol counseling licensure in March of 2019. Prior to joining the NIH, Ms. Hunter worked in Baltimore City, treating patients with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Prior to joining the NIH SWD in 2020, she worked in Washington, DC at George Washington Hospital with psychiatric patients.

Ms. Elisabeth McCall Martin received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a Social Service concentration from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1998. She obtained her Master of Social Work degree from Syracuse University School of Social Work in 2001. Prior to joining the NIH Clinical Center team in May of 2018, she worked in hospice, community mental health settings with children, adolescents and adults, correctional services, juvenile justice, child welfare, and the education system. Most recently she worked as a community hospice social worker with a local agency in Frederick County, Maryland. Ms. McCall-Martin is currently working with patients on the NIH HAMB Team. She serves as a field instructor and mentor for students at the Bachelor and Master level of social work education.

Mary (Beth) Morrow received her BSW from Regis College outside of Boston in 1997 and her MSW from the University of Alabama’s School of Social Work in 1998. She has over 20 years of experience as a medical social worker. She worked previously at the NIH Clinical Center from 2004-2007 and she returned to the NIH Clinical Center Department of Social Work in 2020. She has worked in several community hospitals and served as the social work supervisor for a skilled nursing facility in the DC area. She has broad range of medical social work experience but has focused her work on social work practice in oncology and geriatrics. She works primarily with adult oncology patients enrolled in research protocols through the National Cancer Institute here at the Clinical Center.

Ms. Patricia Prince earned a BA from Boston College, a M. ED from Boston University and a MSW from The Catholic University of America’s National Catholic School of Social Service. She has been with the NIH Clinical Center since 2002 serving hematology and transplant patients who are participating on protocols with the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. She has provided numerous national and international scientific presentations and peer reviewed publications related to her research on Spiritual Well Being in Hispanic and non-Hispanic Survivors of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and distress screening for oncology patients.

Ms. Stearn received a Master of Social Work from Catholic University, National Catholic School of Social Service. She has worked as a clinical social worker with the Clinical Center since 2015. She works with patients enrolled on protocols with several branches of the National Cancer Institute and with the Hematology Branch of the National, Heart Lung, and Blood Institute.

Ms. Latascha Washington graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work with a major in Clinical Social Work and a concentration in Military and Veteran Affairs. Prior to joining the NIH Clinical Center, she worked as a Medical Disability Examiner where she determined claimant’s residual functional capacity (RFC) to support patient disability determinations. Ms. Washington has also worked as a domestic violence advocate, assisting clients with rebuilding their lives in the safest, most supportive manner possible. She served as a Social Service Specialist for Washington State Aging and Long-Term Care, where she determined the level of care needed for clients with the goal of maintaining their independence. More recently, she worked in the community hospital setting, conducting complex discharge planning and coordinating inpatient and outpatient oncology/hematology patient care. She currently serves patients enrolled on research protocols with the NHLBI Sickle Cell Teams.

Puerto Rican born and raised, Mrs. Garay joined the SWD in 2013 as an interpreter intern through the prestigious HACU National Internship Program. Having graduated with a MA in Translation from the University of Puerto Rico in 2014 Mrs. Garay pursued and attained her certification as a medical interpreter (CMI-Spanish) through the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters. Mrs. Garay has been a staff interpreter with the Language Interpreters Program at the NIH Clinical Center since October 2014. She is a senior member of the department and a mentor to the SWD’s HACU internship students.

As a native Spanish speaker born and raised in Guatemala, Ms. Heidi Hobson studied at the highly regarded Colegio Guatemalteco Bilingüe. She attended the Universidad de San Carlos. Heidi initiated her Interpreting Career as a Volunteer Interpreter for "Feed the Children Foundation" and various International Medical Mission Campaigns throughout rural areas of Guatemala and El Salvador. As a Medical Field Interpreter, Heidi served as a relay interpreter between U.S. Doctors, Nurses, Volunteer support staff, and multitudes of Indigenous and Spanish speaking patients for free immunization campaigns, dental, speech therapy, nutrition, and surgical clinics. Her commitment to the art of effective communication was only paralleled by her compassion for the ill and underserved. Once living in the US, Heidi worked for the Myofascial and Manual Therapy Institute of Plano Texas, The North Dallas Rehabilitation Center, and Lee Memorial Health System (LMHS) in FL. Her interpreting experience includes Physical and Occupational Therapy, Psychology services, Labor and Delivery, NICU/PICU, and Emergency room care. She completed courses through LMHS and Cross-Cultural Communications in MD. Heidi has taught Medical Interpretation courses focusing on the Ethics and Standards of care, for fellow employees at LMHS. She is a qualified Court Interpreter for the State of Florida. Heidi relocated to Maryland when she accepted a Language Interpreter position at NIH.

Ms. Vélez Toro was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Human Biology at the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón campus, and began her Master’s degree in Translation at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. Ms. Vélez Toro came to the NIH in 2017 through the HACU National Internship Program, and became a staff interpreter in 2018. During this time, she became a certified medical interpreter through the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI). Ms. Vélez Toro is a senior interpreter in the program and mentor to administrative and interpreter staff.