The EMBRACE Initiative’s director of clinical services is praised for her work with the program that addresses systemic barriers in Baltimore and gives the community a say in developing its services.
It was advertised as a meeting between University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) leaders and the directors of the University’s EMBRACE Initiative, but that was a ruse. It was actually a UMB Employee of the Month ceremony, but, in the end, it became a lovefest directed at one individual: Mariel Pfister, MSW, LCSW-C.
First, UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, surprised Pfister with news that the Oct. 6 meeting at the Saratoga Building was really about her being named UMB’s Employee of the Month of September. Then, one by one, co-workers heaped praise upon Pfister, who is EMBRACE’s director of clinical services, telling stories about the professional abilities and personal traits that make her so endearing to them, with one word popping up several times: amazing.
“We’ve been together for a while now, and it’s just a joy to see Mariel continually grow and continue to support me in our work,” said Ryan Haynes Jr., community program specialist and case manager. “She is just amazing, and without her, there wouldn’t be me in this position. I definitely appreciate her and am so proud of her, and I know she’ll keep doing what she does so well.”
Priyasmita Roy, PhD, director of research and evaluation, said Pfister “inspires me every single day.”
“I’ve known Mariel only since last year when I came to UMB, but she is the sweetest, most amazing person I’ve met here,” Roy said. “I can talk with her about work, I can talk with her when I’m feeling sad, or we can talk and joke around. She is so nice and so multitalented. I just love working with Mariel.”
Kyla Liggett-Creel, PhD, LCSW-C, executive director of EMBRACE, said she has known Pfister for many years, “from when she was just a baby social worker to now a full-grown adult social worker.”
“We first met when Mariel was working at the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services. I was presenting there, and she was so great in supporting me that day. I said, ‘Who are you? You are amazing,’ ” Liggett-Creel said. “I hired her at UMB a few years later. Mariel has been here since the beginning of EMBRACE, when we had all of three staff members, and now we have 50.”
UMB President Bruce Jarrell, left, surprises Mariel Pfister, sitting, with news that she had been selected as UMB’s Employee of the Month of September. (Photo by Matthew D’Agostino)
EMBRACE is a 5-year-old UMB program that works with grassroots organizations, community groups, and individuals with lived experience to address systemic racism, mass incarceration, and health barriers in the city of Baltimore. Pfister leads initiatives that promote equitable outcomes, develops community- and stakeholder-led curriculum, and facilitates training for EMBRACE staff and community partners.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to help build and oversee programs that are especially meaningful to me,” said Pfister, a University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) graduate who is pursuing a PhD at the school. “That includes our Kinship Navigation Program, which supports relatives who are caring for children, and permanent supportive housing programs that serve young people who are navigating housing instability and transitioning out of systems such as foster care.
“My work also includes clinical oversight and supervision, developing partnerships and training and helping to translate research into meaningful, community-responsive services,” Pfister added. “At the heart of it all is trying to address structural barriers while ensuring that the people we serve have a voice in shaping the programs that are intended to support them.”
Lynette Johnson, EdD, MA, director of operations, nominated Pfister for the Employee of the Month Award, saying that she embodies all of UMB’s core values sets: Respect and Integrity, Well-Being and Sustainability, Equity and Justice, and Innovation and Discovery.
“Mariel is a shining star in a segment of the University that sometimes gets forgotten,” Johnson said. “She brings together academia and human services to best serve the community that surrounds the UMB campus. As a director at EMBRACE and a doctoral student at the School of Social Work, she is the epitome of what the core values of the University represent to the students and the community.”
Pfister has worked at UMB for eight years, including time with UMSSW’s Promise Heights initiative as a community school director at Booker T. Washington Middle School in the Upton/Druid Heights community in West Baltimore.
“My work with Promise Heights remains one of the most formative, challenging, and fun jobs I’ve ever had,” Pfister said. “It is from that role I came on to work with Dr. Liggett-Creel. I’ve worn almost every hat and had many titles in supporting her in building up the EMBRACE Initiative.”
“Yes, she’s had about 17 different titles,” Liggett-Creel said with a laugh. “I’ve trusted her in working with all of our social workers because she has great clinical skills. She’s going through the PhD program while maintaining excellence in her job and answering every call, and everyone she works with or supports feels like they are cared for.”
Mark-Anthony Montgomery, MDiv, director of community outreach, also praised Pfister for her versatility.
“If the University were to identify a Swiss army knife, it would be Mariel,” he said. “She does so many things, and she does them well, from supporting people on the professional side to supporting people on the personal side. No other person deserves to be Employee of the Month more than Mariel.”
Near the end of the ceremony, Jarrell asked Pfister what she thought was the greatest thing about EMBRACE, and she answered by talking about the people that the initiative serves and the people with whom she works.
“We value lived experience in our programs,” said Pfister, who received $250 and a certificate of commendation for her UMB award. “When we’re tackling any kind of systemic barrier — whether it’s homelessness or community violence or incarceration — we never take the humanity out of it, and we never take lived experience out of it. We keep people central in the everyday aspects but also in our program’s mission, and that’s our secret sauce. We show up for each other as colleagues and recognize each other’s humanity.
“I’m very lucky to work with some incredibly talented people,” she added. “We’re aligned on many of the values I hold dear. You don’t always get that in the work we do, and I feel so grateful for those people. The fact that we also get to do innovative work that tackles structural issues makes it even better.”