Constance "Connie" Bookman
Pensacola, Escambia County
Committees: 
Connie Bookman, L.C.S.W., was born in Miami, Florida, and attended Monsignor Edward Pace High School. She received her undergraduate degree in Social Work from St. Leo College, and a Master’s in Social Work from Florida State University.
Bookman worked for 10 years as a medical social worker for Baptist Health Care, serving terminally ill clients and their families, and over the years developed support groups for patients with Parkinson’s Disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, and Amputees. She spearheaded a support group for quadriplegics under the age of 50 who resided in nursing homes, bringing patients together weekly to discuss ways of finding purpose within the confines of a nursing home. She has developed curriculum, and led groups for rape victims and for families with mentally ill loved ones.
In 1992, Bookman developed the only residential treatment program in the Pensacola area for single homeless women. The Waterfront Rescue Mission embraced this 12 month, four-phase program and it continues to thrive today. She became Executive Director of The Christian Counseling Center in 1999, and began a partnership with the Social Work and Psychology Departments at Florida State University, Troy University, and University of West Florida, supervising 18 undergraduate and graduate interns who provided free mental health and case management services for the indigent in the Pensacola area.
In 2004, Bookman founded Pathways For Change (PFC), a faith-based addictions treatment program that became a viable sentencing option in Escambia County. This 18-month, court ordered “therapeutic community” costs $15,000 per year, and saves tax payers over $1 million each year because of its 85% success rate. PFC provides mental health counseling, case management, and vocational and educational training that assures 100% employment upon graduation. PFC has over 30 community partners who share in the success of this cost-effective prisoner reentry program.
Bookman received the Florida House of Representatives “Unsung Hero” award in 2008; The National Association of Social Worker’s NWF Chapter “Social Worker of the Year” award in 2009; and the Department of Children and Families recognition in 2010 for collaborative efforts in Circuit One.
As a mother of two sons, Bookman has volunteered and received awards from Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Diocese. James Reeves, II is a Tulane University Law graduate and practices in New Orleans. D.C. Reeves is a Florida State University alumni and sports writer for the Pensacola News Journal, and is married to Shannon Barney Reeves. She is married to Alan Bookman, Past President of the Florida BAR, and they share two daughters: Alison Skidmore and husband Donald, and Jyl Jackson and husband Adam and their four daughters, Abbie, Sarah, and twin girls, Lauren and Leighton. |
