Social Work Person of the Year
Each year, the University of Houston-Downtown Center for Public Service & Community Research (within the UHD College of Public Service Social Work Program) selects one individual to be honored as its Social Work Person of the Year.
Presentation of the Social Work Person of the Year
Presented by Social Work Faculty
Tuesday, March, 25th 2025 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in room C-100
The Social Work Department is proud to present the Social Work Person of the Year Award to Rhonda Kuykendall.
The University of Houston Downtown Bachelor of Social Work Program is proud to announce Rhonda Kuykendall, our very own program graduate, as the 2024 Social Work Program Person of the Year. March is national Social Work month. We use this opportunity to highlight the very best work of public servants in our community. This year marks the first time a UHD BSW Alumni has been awarded this honor, a testament to Rhonda’s groundbreaking work, and to the growing impact of our program.
Rhonda Kuykendall is a survivor leader, speaker, consultant, and legislative advocate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. Rhonda works with the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office as their Task Force Coordinator for the Fort Bend Anti-Trafficking Collective. Rhonda serves on the Survivor Advisory Board for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, as well as a member of the Texas Human Trafficking Survivor Leader Council. She chairs the Legislative Advocacy Team on the Board of Directors of Child Advocates of Fort Bend. Rhonda received the 2023 Paul H. Chapman National Award from the Foundation for the Improvement of Justice. In 2022, Rhonda received the University of Houston-Downtown’s College of Public Service Social Justice and Change Agent award. She also received the 2015 U.S. Congressional Medal for her work in Austin enacting legislation to protect children from sexual assault.
Please join us on Tuesday, March 25th, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in C-100 to hear Rhonda talk about her incredible work, and to help us celebrate her extraordinary commitment to the wellbeing of others.
For further information contact Steven Villano, director of the Center for Public Service and Community Research at villanos@uhd.edu.