Like Father, Like Mother, Like Sisters
Sy Adler flanked by his daughters (left to right) Susan Adler, Karen Adler Marder and Michelle Adler-Morrison
Introduction
Conversation was rarely lacking around the Adler dinner table, with the topic of discussion often centering on one topic – social work.
Youth Guidance’s CEO, Michelle Adler-Morrison, MSW ‘90, followed her sisters, Susan Adler, MSW ‘83, and Karen Adler Marder, MSW ‘87, to the Jane Addams College of Social Work. Social work is a family affair for the Adler’s, as the three sisters followed their parents, Sy and Barbara Adler, into the field.
“My father was passionate about criminal justice reform and my mother was an expert clinician working with wards of the state needing support to transition to independent living after growing up in foster care,” Adler-Morrison said of her parents, who met at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice. “Dinner conversations in our household were riveting, with my parents discussing issues like the unjust disproportionate incarceration rates of African American men and the harms being perpetuated by a broken child welfare system.
“I remember their impassioned debates about complicated issues, both demonstrating a deep commitment to social justice. Our parents jokingly wanted us to enter a slightly higher paying field, but I guess the dinner conversations and witnessing people whose sense of purpose that aligns with their work was just too compelling.”
Social work was not the only commonality between Adler-Morrison and her father. He preceded his daughter as executive director of Youth Guidance from 1967-73, the period the agency became more innovated by moving their programs into schools to remove barriers to accessing critical support when young people needed it most. The organization has evolved throughout the years, but “in some ways, Youth Guidance is the same as it was when my father was executive director: impactful, cutting edge, youth-centered, creative and scrappy – always fighting above our weight,” Adler-Morrison said.
However, there is a dramatic difference, she said. In 1973, Youth Guidance had 15 employees that served 1,287 youth. Today, the organization serves more than 19,000 students and has a staff of 600.
In 1973, Sy Adler left Youth Guidance to lead the Cook County juvenile court system, but Youth Guidance left a lasting impact on him. When Karen Adler was considering internships while a JACSW student, he encouraged his daughter to complete her training at the organization he once led. Like her father, she loved her experience and encouraged her sister, Adler-Morrison, to complete her internship at Youth Guidance.
“I remember my father telling me that the agency had great female leaders, and I’d learn a lot being around such creative and courageous social workers,” Adler-Morrison said. “Once I experienced it myself, I was hooked.
“I can’t believe I’ve been at Youth Guidance almost thirty-five years. I’ve loved every minute of it.”