About GB Thornton & Associates, LLC
Gwendolyn (Gwen) Thornton, PhD LCSW
Gwendolyn (Gwen) Thornton, PhD LCSW is a Professor Emeritus and retired Associate Professor and Chair of the Social Work Department of Virginia State University. For more than 35 years, Dr. Thornton’s remarkable teaching, scholarship, and service involvement has been extensive locally, regionally and internationally. Program and curriculum development for the University and the Department of Social Work is a hallmark of Dr. Thornton’s leadership. She brought to her position as a faculty member and administrator an exceptional ability to provide the knowledge, skills, and leadership needed to develop and implement programs that are now among the leading academic programs at Virginia State University. Her initiatives included the attainment of approval from the University’s Curriculum and Academics Committee (CAIC), the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) towards the creation, development, implementation and accreditation of the Baccalaureate Social Work (BSW), and the social work undergraduate minor. Additionally, in collaboration with the social work department, she provided leadership for the creation and development of the Homefront Readjustment for the Armed Services Certificate Program. She also provided leadership for the development and implementation of the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program (with on-line and face-to-face options) and obtained the CSWE accreditation pre-candidacy status prior to her retirement from VSU in 2022. Dr. Thornton also demonstrated outstanding scholarship through her paper presentations, workshops, publications, and poster presentations while employed at VSU. Most recently, Dr. Thornton mentored a former student and co-authored a book chapter in, “The Half Yet to be Told: Study Abroad and HBCU’s” that was published in March 2023.
The highlight of Dr. Thornton’s lifelong commitment to service occurred during her sabbatical in the fall 2019 semester in Jukwa, a rural community in the Central Region of Ghana. While living in the local community for more than three months, she worked with the Divine Kids Academy (DKA) as an educational consultant for school administrators, training faculty and staff on program development and community development projects. In collaboration with Ghanaian educators and community leaders, she gained first-hand knowledge and experience in understanding the delivery of educational and social services in the remote villages in West Africa. Upon her return to VSU, she extended the knowledge and skills that she acquired to her community, colleagues, the classroom and her scholarship initiatives. Additionally, she incorporated the new knowledge, skills and information that she gained into her teaching pedagogy, service and research agenda, and she also used her global experiences and new perspectives to encourage other faculty members and community leaders to support international education and study abroad programs in West Africa. The goal is to encourage and inspire students to be competitive, culturally sensitive and knowledgeable educators and social work professionals with a demonstrated commitment to social, economic, and environmental justice in an increasingly interconnected world. In 2020, she co-founded the Mimosa International Foundation of America (MIFoA), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is currently a Board Member and Chief Finance Officer.
Dr. Thornton has proven a sincere commitment to higher education as an academician and mentor to hundreds of students while advancing the needle of change within the local and global context. She has always been committed to preparing her students to serve their communities as informed citizens, to become globally competitive leaders, and highly effective and ethical professionals with a commitment to economic and social justice. In March 2019, she established the Dr. Gwendolyn B. Thornton Endowment Scholarship to be utilized for social work students to carry her legacy of excellence forward for generations. In 2021, Dr. Thornton was one of the very first recipients of the Virginia State University Provost’s Outstanding Star Award in Service. Her life’s passion and philosophy is to “be a servant and not to be served”.
Dr. Thornton has been a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in the Commonwealth of Virginia for more than thirty years and she is a Virginia Board of Social Work approved supervisor for individuals seeking LCSW licensure. She is also currently providing online therapy for BetterHelp.com. Her clinical work focuses on working with clients who are experiencing difficult life challenges and issues that lead to anxiety, depression, self-esteem and relationships problems, codependency, lacking self-confidence, and major losses in their lives.
Our Mission
GB Thornton and Associates, LLC, mission is to provide exemplary educational consulting services, professional development training, LCSW clinical supervision and counseling services in the communities it serves locally, regionally, nationally and globally, which is reflected in its core values while “following the process” of life.
“Follow the Process” of Life
Life is a journey and we must follow the process to find peace, joy and happiness.
P – Perseverance
Is the key to success. Never let anyone map your life’s course for you and don’t give up on anything that you believe in, be persistent! Always be positive and look at the bright side of anything that you do in life.
R – Real
Always be genuinely you and keep it real, while always respecting yourself and your fellow man or woman, those in authority, and especially those with ages of wisdom.
O – Openness
Always stay open to new ideas and change. Being open allows you to grow in every aspect of life, whether it’s emotionally, mentally, financially, physically or spiritually, and always seize the opportunity to grow, learn and to give back to humanity.
C – Compassion
Always be kind to others, caring and considerate of others feeling, and be confident in yourself, and self-assured in what you do in your life’s chosen profession or vocation.
E – Empathy
Always envision yourself walking in someone else shoes, and gain an understanding of the plight of others that you come in contact with. You can’t begin to understand the pain of someone until you have walked in their shoes, and always give words of encouragement because there is power in the words of encouragement and it inspires one’s spirit and soul
S – Supportive
Always be supportive by being helpful, loyal, kind, caring, empathetic, and encouraging to your fellow man, woman, boy or girl.
S – Serve
Finally, always remember that we are here in this universe to serve and not to be served. Service from the heart brings joy, happiness and peace to the soul.
Destiny – Living an Inspired Life
Why are we here? What is the reason for our existence? What is the meaning of our lives? These questions are universal.
PURPOSE is the key to life. Without purpose, life has no meaning. Purpose is the master of motivation and the mother of commitment. It is the service enthusiasm and the womb of perseverance. Purpose gives birth to hope and instills the passion to act. It is the common denominator that gives ever creature an element of distinction.
History shows that the value of life decreases and the quality of existence diminishes when a generation loses it sense of destiny and purpose.
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keeps the law, happy is he”. These words contain principles that every living being should heed. Where there is no purpose, there is no self-control no moral conviction and not ethical boundaries.
We must realize that our fulfillment in life is dependent on us becoming and doing what we were born to be and do. Anything less makes life our enemy and death our friend.
We were designed for our purpose. We should never try to become someone else. We are the way we are, because of why we are. Our birth is evidence that our purpose is necessary. We were born with and for a purpose. By no means, God’s purpose for our lives are not hindered.
PURPOSE transforms mistakes into miracles and disappointments into testimonies.