Lorena Sánchez was announced as the new Director of Admissions for the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, effective October 9, 2023.
“It feels great to be back!” said Sánchez, who is a two-time graduate of SHS. “I look forward to being part of this amazing community and getting to know each of the people in this School once again.”
Sánchez is an accomplished social work professional over 15 years of direct experience building and enhancing strategic relationships and partnerships with federal, state, and local entities. Prior to her current role, Sánchez held career posts marked by a dedication to improving communities and the lives of individuals by making higher education attenable for students from underserved communities, timely developmental intervention to children ages birth to three, increasing awareness and accessibility to State programs that promote healthy family formation, encourage responsible parenthood, and increase safety during the child support life cycle.
“We are thrilled that Lorena will return to the Steve Hicks School to lead our admissions efforts,” said Rebecca Gomez, associate dean for academic affairs. “Lorena’s passion for our mission and values combined with powerful training and experience position her to be an outstanding leader in our admissions office.”
Lorena is a double alumna of the Steve Hicks School (BSW ’06, MSSW ’08), and holds a post graduate certificate in Data Science and Business Analytics from the McCombs School of Business. Lorena brings experience supporting first generation students within a HBCU through her work with Upward Bound. Additionally, she has served in several leadership positions within social service agencies and was most recently Director of Prevention, Early Intervention and Outreach at the Office of the Attorney General.
“I also want to thank our Senior Academic Program Coordinator search advisory committee for their excellent work in managing an efficient, thorough, and inclusive search process,” said Gomez. “The committee was chaired by Cynthia Franklin, and the members included Sarah Swords, Marian Mahaffey, Dante Vargas, Megan Keller, and Yessenia Castro. I would also like to thank Isaiah Jones for providing support to the committee and Jennifer Luna, Monica Urso, and Eden Blessner who assisted with interviews.”