PhD Student Susan Klumpner will be recognized in February by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) as its 2020 UTSA Service Award Recipient. PTR will honor Klumpner February 10 at its International Tennis Symposium in Hilton Head, SC, for her work in the ACE Project.
Klumpner co-founded the ACE Project in Chicago. The Project's mission is “to promote positive youth development in children ages 5 to 18 through building social and emotional skills, athletic ability and educational fortitude.” Klumpner, a licensed social worker — and a PTR-certified 10 and Under Tennis instructor — serves as its executive director. ACE has grown to offer programs in Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit.
Klumpner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and has a background in serving children and families impacted by trauma and violence. Presently, she is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work and a third-year minority fellow with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The focus of her doctoral research is on after school programming that promotes positive development for racial minority youth living in under-resourced communities. Prior to entering the doctoral program, Susan was a school social worker and graduate student researcher at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, evaluating professional development programs for after school providers. She now teaches in the MSW program at University of Maryland, Widener University, and began teaching at University of Michigan in Fall 2018.
KLumpner received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Grinnell College and her Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago in 2011. Susan played for the Women’s Tennis Team for Lawrence University for 3 years and for Grinnell College during her senior year. She is a PTR Certified 10-and-under tennis instructor and has been coaching youth for the past ten years.