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Grace Longwell Coyle Professor Emerita

Elizabeth M. Tracy is the Grace Longwell Coyle Professor Emerita. Her research focus has been the development and evaluation of social work practice models and methods which support families, make use of natural helping networks, and incorporate environmental helping strategies. Her scholarly work has focused on clinically useful ways to assess social support and social networks, the development of key practice skills for social network interventions, and the role of social network and other environmental helping strategies in program implementation. The body of her work on social networks and social support has been applied to family preservation programs, residential settings for youth, early intervention, community mental health case management programs and substance abuse treatment services for women.

In addition to teaching and scholarship, Tracy has served as the chair of the Mandel School's doctoral program and as associate dean for research and training. A 2016 Fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research, she also served as a co-lead for the "Eradicate Social Isolation" Grand Challenge.

Why I Chose This Profession

My first working experiences after graduating from college were with children with developmental disabilities and their families. I realized early on that in order to work best with the children I needed to connect with their families. Yet the school districts at that time frequently discouraged contacts between teaching staff and families. When I returned to graduate school, my choice was between social work and special education. Ultimately I decided on a social work career because I felt, as I do now, that social work would allow me to impact people as well as the environments that people experienced and confronted. Much of my work as a social worker has revolved around practice models that support families, make use of natural helping networks, and include environmental helping strategies as an important component of clinical practice.

Biosketch | Curriculum Vitae

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Washington

Master of Social Work, University of Washington

Bachelor of Arts, Radcliffe College