A Leader in Field Education

Professor of the Practice Michele Sienkiewicz’s recent retirement doesn’t mark the end of a career so much as the start of a new chapter. After serving on the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) field faculty since 2003, Sienkiewicz is embarking on a new career as a birth doula — what she refers to as her “next act.”

Sienkiewicz wasn’t familiar with birth doulas until she met one at a yoga class. She explains that birth doulas provide emotional and physical support to mothers during childbirth. Women with doulas have a lower rate of C-sections, epidural use and interventions like forceps and suction deliveries that can impact the baby. According to Sienkiewicz, women who use doulas also have better mental health outcomes following childbirth.

The doula role is a natural extension of Sienkiewicz’s social work practice and her own experience as a mother of four. She completed doula training just before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and started volunteering as a doula at Denver Health. There, she worked with many low-income and immigrant mothers, many of whom did not speak English. She recalls, “I fell in love with it. It felt like the social work of old, dealing with clients who had real issues. I love being with women at an incredibly vulnerable time. It’s really an empowering way to assist women, especially first-time moms. To have someone to help them think through what they want and formulate questions — it’s really rewarding.”

Recognizing the improved maternal health outcomes doulas provide, Colorado Medicaid now covers the service through Denver Health. Sienkiewicz recently completed recertification, which allows her to accept paid clients. She plans to pursue her birth doula practice and her private practice providing therapy services in person and online, leaving her ample time to spend with her adult children and new grandchild.

Sienkiewicz says she never expected her social work career to take her into higher education, nor did she expect to stay there so long. After earning her MSW at Fordham University, Sienkiewicz provided child welfare services in New York City. She started teaching practice courses, providing field instruction and serving as a field liaison via local community colleges, where she discovered she enjoyed working with students.

After relocating to Colorado, Sienkiewicz began teaching at Metropolitan State University of Denver and GSSW; she also served as a GSSW field liaison. She joined GSSW’s field faculty part time in 2003 and remained for 22 years. For most of that time, she served as a field coordinator and associate director.

In 2016, facing a looming enrollment cliff, former Dean James Herbert Williams tasked Sienkiewicz with starting a field education program for the school’s new online MSW program, which enrolled students nationally. “When I [joined GSSW], we had something like 330 students in a campus-only program, and the Four Corners program was just starting. We didn’t even have a database — everything was on paper!” The new online program enrolled 16 students its first year. Sienkiewicz served as associate director of online field education until 2021. By then, GSSW enrollment had skyrocketed to more than 1,200 students, all with a field agency and supervisor.

Sienkiewicz reflects, “Field education is so incredibly varied, and it’s challenging because there are so many facets to it. Most people don’t understand the complexity. There’s a whole back end of legal and risk management, contracting with agencies, problem resolution. Navigating the politics takes a special skillset.”

When alumna and Professor of the Practice Kate Ross, MSW ’97, joined GSSW’s field faculty, there were two other part-time employees: Sienkiewicz and Ben Fransua (MSW ’73). Ann Petrila, MSW ’82, was director of field education. Sienkiewicz was Ross’s direct supervisor. “Michele was in charge of knowing how many students we had and how many liaisons and agencies we needed, and she was always looking at the big picture, as well as the details. She’s the consummate leader and manager — she knows the details but has an eye on what we need to do to get it done for everyone.”

Now assistant dean of field education and community partnerships, Ross notes that Sienkiewicz was “always conscientious about what students were learning and integrating academic development and field experience. She built the foundation of a quality online program.”

Ross describes Sienkiewicz as a “teacher and uplifter. She was always supporting her team with growth opportunities and encouraging people, taking them under her wing. It’s unbelievable how conscientious she is about developing everyone who works for her. She also describes Sienkiewicz as “a community organizer of care” — the person who remembers birthdays and anniversaries and organizes food trains and other sources of support.

It is fitting that Sienkiewicz’s next act will be caring for and supporting new mothers. She says, “I’m happy to be going. My work at GSSW is done. I’ve had a wonderful experience with my team, and now it’s time to do something else.”