Hollen (Holley) Tillman received her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2014. Upon completing her BSW, she was a field organizer and campaign manager for a youth-led public health initiative in Virginia. As a campaign manager, she assisted in passing a state law that restricts tobacco use on school campuses.
She then completed her Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020. After her MSW, she worked in various research positions, with her work on the Pittsburgh Wage Study investigating wage increases on worker well-being being deeply impactful. She is continuing her work with the Pittsburgh Wage Study with Dr. Jeff Shook as her faculty mentor.
Research Interests
- Social Work and Labor History
- Community-Based Research with Low-Wage Workers
- Labor and Anti-Poverty Policy
- Impacts of Collective Bargaining on Worker Well-Being and Voice
Publications
Schleitwiler, T., Tillman, H., Thyberg, C., Goodkind, S., Shook, J., Engel, R., Woo, J., & Kim, S. (2023). “I went back to the bedside because we need to save healthcare": Worker-generated solutions for the challenges facing hospital workers. Pittsburgh Wage Study. https://www.pittsburghwagestudy.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/I-Went-Back-to-the-Bedside-Pittsburgh-Wage-Study-8-31-2023.pdf
Ballentine, K. L., Woo, J., Tillman, H., & Goodkind, S. (2023). “You Have to Keep in Mind That You’re Dealing with People’s Lives”: How Hospital Service Workers Enact an Ethic of Care. New Solutions, 33(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911231164906
Shook, J., Goodkind, S., Ballentine, K., Woo, J., Engel, R., Tillman, H., & Schleitwiler, T. (2023). Using research to build power: the Pittsburgh Wage study. Journal of Community Practice, 31(3–4), 488–508. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2023.2272152
Shook, J., Woo, J., Ballentine, K., Goodkind, S., Tillman, H., Jones-Casey, G., & Engel, R.(2022). Leaving the bedside: Findings from the Pittsburgh hospital workers survey. Pittsburgh Wage Study.http://www.pittsburghwagestudy.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Leaving-the-Bedside.4.26.pdf
Conference Presentations
Tillman, H., & Schleitwiler, T. (2024, January). "Are we violating our own Code of Ethics?": Hospital social workers' challenges and solutions to improve worker retention and patient care. Paper presentation at the 28th annual meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research. Washington, DC.
Huerta, C., Tillman, H., Shook, J., & Engel, R. (2023, January). Human service organizations responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and innovative solutions. Paper presentation at the 27th annual meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research. Washington, DC.
