The George Warren Brown School of Social Work honored two distinguished individuals for outstanding service to their professions during its annual Alumni Awards celebration April 6 in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

Two alumni received Distinguished Alumni Awards, and a faculty member received a Distinguished Faculty Award.

The honorees:

Distinguished Alumni Awards

J. Peter Roberto (MSW ’88). As director of public health and social services for Guam, Roberto’s work lies at the intersection of public health and social work. He launched programs, including efforts in smoking cessation, to improve the lives of Guam’s residents. Prior to this role, he served as director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, also in Guam.

Reena Hajat Carroll (MSW ’05). Through her work as executive director of the Diversity Awareness Partnership, Carroll has inspired dialogue and understanding about diversity in schools, workplaces and communities throughout the St. Louis region. Her contributions to the community extend beyond the partnership, and include memberships on the board of the Living Insights Center and the Children’s Hospital Community Advisory Board, among others. Carroll also teaches a course on human diversity and social justice at the Brown School.

Distinguished Faculty Award

Jack Kirkland, associate professor. He is a nationally known scholar who lectures, consults and writes on the African-American family. His work is aimed at strengthening and revitalizing distressed and depressed communities. A popular teacher, his goal is to arm students with practical knowledge so they can have an impact on communities, whether it is through having a seat in government, in private enterprise or in business or through community agencies. To that end, Kirkland has developed practicum opportunities in East St. Louis, Ill., and is working on similar opportunities with other municipalities.

For more information, visit gwbweb.wustl.edu/Alumni/Pages/AlumniAwards.aspx.