School Alumni Associations

IU School of Social Work Alumni Association

Alumni Profiles

Annette Hadley Smith

My name is Annette Hadley Smith.  I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and spent my younger years in a small town called Covert, Michigan.  I moved to Chicago, Illinois until high school and received my high school diploma in Indianapolis, Indiana.

As a young girl I noticed that my parents were always helping others and were actively involved in the community.  While I do not recall the marches, I have viewed pictures of them marching in civil rights demonstrations.  I can remember sharing with my parents while I was in elementary school that I wanted to work with the "bad kids" to help them. 

I completed work on my Bachelor of Social Work Degree in Bloomington, IN in 1983 and I made application for the Master's program in Indianapolis shortly after graduation.  I earned my MSW from IU in 1987.  The relationships that I formed during the Saturday weekend MSW class provided a positive, never forgotten foundation for me.  As an undergraduate and graduate student, there were several faculty members that truly inspired me along my journey; most noted are George Pardo, Darshi Singh, Marion Wagner, and Theresa Roberts.

My MSW practicum placements, first at the Central Indiana Council on Aging and then the National Organization of Women, offered me first hand opportunities to learn more about policy making and how social workers can make a difference.  Working in agencies that empower both women and children has been a consistent professional thread for me, from Sojourners (The Julian Center) to the Children's Bureau.  I have been afforded the opportunity to serve as a Field Placement Instructor for both the BSW and MSW programs and have held various positions in the School of Social Work, most recently as the Interim BSW Student Services Coordinator.  I find teaching and mentoring to be fulfilling and I look for ways to be creative in both of those areas.

I had the special honor of attending and completing the Governor's Executive Management School while serving as the Executive Assistant to FSSA's Department of Family and Children Division Director and the Deputy Director.  My consistent professional thread has come full circle in the policy arena; I am presently employed at the Indiana Department of Child Services, with the Performance Quality and Improvement Quality Services Review Team.  

I am married to Dr. L. Wayne Smith and we have four sons who range from 4 to 12 years of age.  One of my pastimes is cooking and baking.  I enjoy learning about historical events and reading biographies of great men and women.  My most precious pastime is being involved with my family and friends, learning wisdom at the feet of my elders.  I also enjoy local site seeing throughout the community and have been known to drive a completely different way to get to a location just to learn more about the community.  I am deeply involved with church activities as I am with the children's schools.  And, I am a member of the IUSSW Alumni Board. 

See the IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations Calendar of Events for upcoming School of Social Work alumni programs.

School of Social Work web site 

IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations contact:
Karen Deery, (317) 274-8959 or kdeery@iupui.edu