Social Worker of the Year 2023

Celebrate our social workers!

Please join us to congratulate this year’s Cook Children’s Social Worker of the Year and all social workers who were nominated. Each employee nominated for this honor has gone above and beyond to meet Cook Children’s experience standards – to connect, collaborate, and elevate – and each embodies Cook Children’s core values of kindness, respect, collaboration, imagination, generosity and safety.

Social Worker of the Year 2023

Sarah Shepherd, Cook Children’s Health Plan

Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been with Cook Children’s since 2015 as a STAR/CHIP case manager.

From her nomination: “I have watched Sarah collaborate and find resources, sometimes in the farthest recesses of the counties we serve, to help a family. Sarah always uses her talents to elevate a family above their circumstances by giving them the tools and resources to be happy and healthy in all the various settings in which they live and work.”

From her supervisor, Liliana Zumba-Acevedo: “Sarah has always been an amazing team player and is always willing to help everyone, including bringing in great ideas to our team and helping to solve problems. Sarah always goes above and beyond in trying to help her members and their families since she truly cares about them. This shows how compassionate, empathetic, and caring she really is.  Even through challenging and complex situations, Sarah always has a positive attitude. Sarah makes sure she is doing all that’s possible for the families she is helping.  She has also shown great leadership over the years by taking initiative when it is needed. Sarah is truly an amazing person and I can always count on her.  We are so lucky to have her in our team.”

All nominees:

CARE Team

Kindra Brown

Case Management

Kate DeVore

Shelly Koslan- Joiner

Jene’a Haynes

David Marsden

Sahvanna Diaz

Victoria Highland

Cris Hinojosa

Lori Whitsett

Sarah Pittman

Donna Capps

Elena Hampton

Endocrine

Emily Haddad

Genetics

Audrey Hicks

Health Plan

Andrea Vox- Afful

Renae Arledge

Neighborhood Health Centers

Dayo Jolayemi

Kelly Rand

Psychiatry

Rachel Grimes

Siobahn Beaty

Alexis Harrison

Brittany Smith

Alexis Solis

Matthew Reed

Jessie Tirrell