Lovdy Grossman, MPAff, is the Director of the Office of Professional Development (OPD) at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHS). Lovdy has a proven track record with over 15 years of experience in developing, managing, and executing educational meetings, conferences, and long-term training programs. Her work spans diverse sectors, including non-profits, medical societies, government health departments, technology consortiums and private companies. She holds a BA in Fine Arts from UCLA and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to joining SHS in 2022, Lovdy served in educational leadership roles at the Texas Library Association and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin. Her work has also provided programmatic and capacity-building support for Title V, X, and XX grant recipients and non-profits focused on mental health and disaster recovery. One of the most pivotal experiences in her career was leading the vetting, training, and mobilization of over 600 psychiatrist and psychiatric residents to Ground Zero and the Family Assistance Center in response to 9/11 while working in New York City.
In OPD, Lovdy leads a team that develops and hosts educational programs for mid-career social work and mental health professionals, including Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, and Psychologists. The office also supports faculty and student-sponsored speaker series, trainings, and conferences on various social work topics, as well as the professional development needs of states agencies such as HHSC, DFPS, TWC, and TCEQ. Lovdy takes pride in the fact that her efforts have resulted in over 10,000 learners being engaged and elevated through continued learning. Her professional motto is: “We make people committed to public good great at what they do.”
Outside of work, Lovdy can be found enjoying life with her two kiddos, two shoe-chewing dogs, and incredibly patient husband of 15+ years. She enjoys reading, cooking, genealogy research, listening to live music, and wandering aimlessly down trails in Central Texas.