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Laurie Kaplan, LCSW, is the Co-Director of the Ackerman Institute’s
Diversity and Social Work Training Program. She is also a faculty member at the Institute and
teaches in the Externship Program and the Diversity and Social Work Training Program.
A former professional dancer, Ms. Kaplan completed her graduate studies in social work in
1980 and worked in residential treatment centers, inpatient and outpatient hospital settings
and in the public schools while completing her post-graduate externship training at the Ackerman
Institute. In 1985, Ms. Kaplan conceived of the idea to provide clinical services to families
affected by AIDS and helped form the Ackerman Institute AIDS Project, the first program of its
kind in the country.
Through her work on the Ackerman Institute AIDS Project, she, together with colleagues Sippio Small
and the late Ruth Mohr, focused their attention on the lack of trained professionals of color in
the field of family therapy and a desire to create training opportunities for students of color.
In 1992, they created the Diversity and Social Work Training Program at the Institute. Now in its
14th year, it offers second year graduate social work students of color a program of rigorous
academics, intensive clinical training and knowledge of community organizational skills and program
development. It also provides them with the opportunity to continue in post graduate training,
coupled with financial assistance and mentorships.
Ms. Kaplan has taught family therapy in many community agencies and hospitals throughout the
metropolitan area and has presented nationally and internationally on AIDS, substance abuse and
numerous family issues. She has published several articles, the most recent of which, entitled
"Multi-Racial Recruitment in the Field of Family Therapy: An Innovative Training Program for
People of Color," in the September 2005 issue of Family Process.
Ms. Kaplan also worked as a mental health consultant on the PBS documentaries Frontier House
and Colonial House. In addition to her work at Ackerman, Ms. Kaplan maintains a
private clinical practice in Manhattan and Dobbs Ferry, where she lives with her husband
and two children.
lkaplan@ackerman.org
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