Distinguished Alumnus:
Sandra I. Murphy '61
BS, Music Education
Sandra Murphy is a clinician, community organizer and activist. She has over 19 years of experience in the criminal justice field as a Forensic Social Worker, and is recognized for her organizing efforts throughout the Greater Danbury Community. She is currently employed with the State of Connecticut’s Division of Public Defender Services. Sandra is a 1984 graduate of Immaculate High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from WestConn in 1990 and a Master Degree in Social Work from Southern Connecticut State University in 1996. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in December 2004.
Murphy has written several articles for the Public Defender Discovery Magazine, and is a constant presenter at conferences in the New England region and surrounding states. She is an active United Way volunteer who serves on the Increasing Self-Sufficiency Community Impact Council and Review Team. She is one of the founding members and a past president of the Greater Danbury Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants, and served on the Area Religious Community’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Immigration. She helped organize Danbury’s 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony, and Katrina and Tsunami relief fundraisers. She also served as a member of the Danbury Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, and currently serves the 110th District on the Danbury Democratic Town Committee. In addition, she is an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, where she teaches liberal and progressive religious education to preschoolers.
Murphy’s professional and community volunteer activities reflect a social
worker who embraces a range of practice areas one might choose to work in –
direct practice with clients in a setting in which social work is not the
primary service focus, advocacy role for both individuals in that work and
for groups in this region, and community education to sensitize service
providers, as well as the general public about undeserved groups, and to
provide them with skills to address social injustices. After graduating from
WestConn’s Social Work Program, and even while she was earning an advanced
degree, Murphy became a supervisor and mentor for other students, both in
agency-based internships and by modeling community activism. Their
preparation for the profession has been enriched by the professionalism
Sandra personifies. For these many reasons, the Department of Social Work is
proud to present Sandra Murphy as a distinguished alumni of the program and
the university.
