Pathways’ Bookman appointed to Florida Bar committee

Connie Bookman, founder and CEO of Pensacola nonprofit Pathways for Change, has been appointed to the Advertising Committee of the Florida Bar Association.
Bookman, who will begin her one-year term July 1, founded Pathways For Change in 2004. In the decade since, the court-ordered substance abuse treatment program has become a viable sentencing option in Escambia County — reducing recidivism and saving taxpayers an estimated $1 million each year.
Bookman worked for 10 years as a medical social worker for Baptist Health Care and started the area’s only residential treatment program for single homeless women before founding Pathways. She also served as executive director of The Christian Counseling Center, where she started a program to provide free mental health care and case management for the indigent.
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; Department of Children and Families recognition for collaborative efforts in Circuit One; and the “Dedicated and Deserving Social Worker” award from the National Association of Social Workers.