David E Pollio, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Social Work and Department Chair, has long focused his work on making a difference in the real world. His practice career dates back more than 30 years and includes working with adolescents with behavioral issues, persons, and families coping with mental illness and addiction, runaway youth and adult homeless; and persons experiencing disaster. His research focuses on developing services for these and other populations and ranges from evaluating organizations, to developing new interventions, to using cutting edge technologies such as on-line social communities and virtual reality. His work has been multi-disciplinary by nature, as is seen through his secondary appointments in the School of Public Health and the African American Studies program, and his longstanding affiliation with the Center for AIDS Research. His work and research has taken him under bridges to the halls of Congress, from the rubble of disaster sites to destinations local and all across this country.