Katelynn Jarrells, Viola Vaughan-Eden win prestigious alumni honors
VCU School of Social Work alumni Katelynn Jarrells (B.S.W.’16, M.S.W’17) and Viola Vaughan-Eden (Ph.D.’03) have earned prestigious honors this fall from VCU’s Office of Alumni Relations.
Jarrells, the program head and associate professor of human services and mental health at Brightpoint Community College, in September was named one of VCU’s 10 Under 10 award honorees – alumni who earned their first VCU degree within the past 10 years and had noteworthy and distinctive achievements. Awardees will be recognized Oct. 19
Vaughan-Eden, professor and the Ph.D. program director with the Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work at Norfolk State University, in October was named a recipient of the Alumni Stars award, a biennial honor recognizing the achievements of VCU’s most notable alumni in their communities and industries. Awardees will be honored Nov. 15.
ALUMNI PANEL | 10 a.m. ET Nov. 15
Viola Vaughan-Eden, David McLeod (Ph.D.’13) and Rachel Rosenberg (Ph.D.’18) will discuss their career journeys and how they make an impact as social workers. Interim Dean Gary S. Cuddeback, Ph.D., will moderate. Attend in person at the Academic Learning Commons, 4100, or register to view on Zoom.
Katelynn Jarrells

Jarrells, a first-generation college student, felt at home while studying social work at VCU. “Social work is something I’m very, very passionate about and really align with,” she says. “Discovering the social work code of ethics provided me with a new lens through which to view the world.”
While earning her master’s degree and after she graduated, Jarrells worked at Greater Richmond SCAN, a nonprofit organization focused on preventing and treating child abuse and neglect. She implemented community programs and worked one-on-one with children and families.
Jarrells then took a job advising social work students at VCU. “I knew I wanted to transition into higher education, and I absolutely adored my academic adviser when I was getting my bachelor’s. I don’t think I would have graduated without her,” she says. “I was really excited for the opportunity to be that person for someone else.”
In 2021, she assumed her current role at Brightpoint Community College. She has worked to provide access to lower-income students by ensuring programs are eligible for the state’s G3 financial assistance program, which covers tuition costs for students at certain income levels, and by using free resources instead of expensive textbooks.
“My biggest motivation and passion is around social justice, and particularly racial justice,” Jarrells says. “Whether students identify as LGBTQ or have disabilities or are of [an underrepresented ethnic group], those are really the things that I’m looking at when I’m designing my programs. When I’m looking at how to make things easier, I’m taking into consideration additional barriers based on students’ positionality and the intersections of those identities and how that impacts what they bring to being a student.”
Viola Vaughan-Eden

In addition to her role with Norfolk State, Vaughan-Eden is also president and CEO of UP For Champions, a nonprofit in partnership with The UP Institute, a think tank for upstream solutions for child abuse. As a forensic and licensed clinical social worker, she has conducted more than 2,500 child abuse evaluations and provided expert testimony more than 650 times. As an educator, she has led national and international training on child welfare to multidisciplinary groups of professionals.
“This recognition from VCU represents a profound full-circle moment in my career,” Vaughan-Eden says. “I attended VCU as a clinical social worker but through my doctoral education, I was able to integrate my clinical practice with research and policy. While at VCU, I had the absolute fortune of studying under many social work pioneers who taught me how to elevate the practical applications of social work for the benefit of the children, families and communities I served. My journey from Ph.D. student researching child sexual abuse to becoming an internationally recognized expert exemplifies the transformative potential of a social work education.
“My career in child welfare demonstrates that social workers are essential not just in crisis intervention, but in creating systemic change that prevents harm and promotes well-being across multiple societal levels including advocacy, mental health and legal. By collaborating with a diverse range of professionals, social workers translate their education into meaningful impact across disciplines.”
Vaughan-Eden serves on several national boards and committees, including the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children and the National Initiative to End Corporal Punishment. She is president emerita of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, president emerita of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence and past president of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work.
Additionally, she served as a panelist on two congressional briefings: 2015 Spare the Rod, Protect the Child: A Reconsideration of Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools, and the 2016 Protecting Child Safety in Family Court. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters on child maltreatment and violence prevention. She was also co-editor of the 2012 and 2023 APSAC Practice Guidelines on Forensic Interviewing of Children and one of the editors-in-chief of the six-volume 2022 NPEIV Handbook on Interpersonal Violence.
In 2023, the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy named Vaughan-Eden its Outstanding Individual in Academia.
“While at VCU, I formed lifelong relationships with my cohort,” she says. “Additionally, I learned a great deal about how to be an academician working as an adjunct professor in the VCU M.S.W. Program. VCU truly transformed me personally and professionally, and I am eternally grateful.”
Categories Alumni, Community, Education