Q&A: Heather Kanenberg
Heather Kanenberg serves as the chair of the social work program and is an associate professor. She is one of the women featured as part of The Signal’s #HawkHerStory coverage, celebrating Women’s History Month. This special coverage focuses on the stories and perspectives of the various women within the UHCL community.
Read The Signal’s Q&A with Kanenberg below and see the other Q&As conducted with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni here.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?
A: I am a Social Worker. I have a BSW from Murray State University and my MSW and PhD are from University of Houston. I worked in the field of social work in policy analysis and program management before I started my career in higher education. My areas of interest in social work are: public policy, access to healthcare, and policy barriers impacting quality of life for vulnerable populations.
I’m not a native Texan. I grew up in upstate New York. I am fortunate to have an amazing family and group of friends that I love deeply. I am also child-free by choice. I have two pups that I dote on and that bring me lots of joy.
Q: What are some activities you enjoy doing?
A: I love music…like, really love music. I usually have it on in my office, at home, in the car, all places. In pre-pandemic life, I used to go to lots of concerts. I’m eager to get back to live music again! Livestreams have been great…but I miss being at a show. I like *almost* all types of music, too. It is a really short list of things that I don’t like.
I also really enjoy my job. I love teaching and our students. I love working with my amazing faculty and staff colleagues. I have also enjoyed the role of faculty senate president and the three years that I’ve spent trying to represent faculty voice while making improvements at UHCL in policy, process, and culture.
I love politics. I follow politics on the local, state, national and international level and am always interested in learning more about the issues, people, and use (or abuse) of power. I am really fascinated by the differences and commonalities in perspectives and approaches.
Q: Who are some women (real or fictional) you look up to most? Why?
A: Gosh, this is hard. I tend to look up to women who are advocates and who use their voice to create change. Women like: Emma González, Dolores Huerta, Fannie Lou Hamer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Alicia Garza, Dorothy Height, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I also look up to some of my amazing colleagues at UHCL who do amazing work and who really center students and colleagues in all that they do: Dr. Subramanian, Dr. Kovic, Dr. Leal, Dr. Romero, Dr. Johnston, Ms. Montelongo, Dr. Elizabeth Beavers, Dr. Jones, Ms. Melendez, Dr. Garland, Dr. Baldwin, Dr. Pavlova-Stout, Dr. Rios, Dr. Seahorn, Dr. Hall, Dr. Mary Short, Dr. Lucas, Dr. Lechago, Dr. Huss-Keeler, Dr. Aliya Beavers, Dr. Costello, Dr. Zalilla, Dr. Santiago…the list goes on and on, there are too many to mention, but we have some incredible women on our faculty and our staff, and I really admire them!
Q: What are some problems you anticipate/have encountered as a woman in your field?
A: I need to start any discussion of this question by first recognizing that in my career I’ve benefited from many privileges as a white, cis-gender, hetero woman. I’ve also worked with some really misogynistic supervisors; having to strategize how to work ‘around’ or ‘in spite of’ their awful words and behaviors.
In social work, like several other professions, we have a glass escalator. This phenomenon means that men in our female-dominated profession (primarily white heterosexual men), are able to rise through the ranks faster and end up in advanced positions more frequently and at a faster rate than women. I’ve seen this happen in social work both in the field and in higher ed.
Q: What advice would you give to other women and young girls?
A: Ugh, I’m really bad at this kind of thing… honestly. So maybe I’ll just share something that I often tell my students and my friends (and try to remind myself): Do the best you can, when you can, with what you have. That is all people can rightfully expect from you.
Also…You are enough.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?
A: I would like for your readers to know that their voice matters. In small and large ways, sharing ideas, perspectives, informed opinions, and asking for what they want are all good things.
