She receives the 2025 Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to health and mental health social work.
The University of Maryland School of Social Work congratulates alumna Joan Levy Zlotnik, PhD ’98, ACSW, on being named the recipient of the 2025 Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation.
The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to health and mental health social work. Zlotnik has worked in the field for more than five decades in roles spanning clinical practice, policy, research, and education.
An NASW Social Work Pioneer, she served as senior consultant for NASW and was the founding director of the Social Work Policy Institute. She also held leadership roles as executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research, director of special projects at the Council on Social Work Education, and staff director of the NASW Family Commission.
Her academic experience includes teaching appointments at George Mason University, the University of Maryland, Washington University in St. Louis, and Virginia Commonwealth University. She began her career as a clinical social worker at Belchertown State School in western Massachusetts and later served as area director in the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.
Zlotnik earned her BA in psychology from the University of Rochester, her MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974, and her PhD in social work from UMSSW in 1998.
She has been an active volunteer at UMSSW and currently serves on its Board of Advisors.
“Dr. Zlotnik’s work has strengthened multiple areas of the profession, from education and research to policy and service delivery,” said UMSSW Dean Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW. “We are pleased to see her contributions recognized with this national award.”