Joan Bonner Conway was born on August 29, 1920 in Baltimore MD. Dr. Bonner Conway earned a BA Degree from Rosemont College (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) in 1941; her MSW from Catholic University of America in 1943; and her Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. Fondly referred to as the “dean” of hospital social work directors, Joan Bonner Conway contributed pioneering efforts toward the organizing of professional support structures for the discipline and its medical social work specialty. Bonner Conway began her career during World War II as a caseworker with the National Red Cross, serving in military hospitals, including Walter Reed General Hospital, from 1943-48. She served as a member of the American Association of Medical Social Workers from 1943-1965. She was director of the Social Service Department of Magee Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Center from 1958-1971 and a medical social worker at Albert Einstein Medical Center from 1957-1958. In addition, she taught history at an academy in Venezuela from 1955-57 Bonner Conway served as Director of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from 1971-1987. Her specialization was in the field of Medical Social Work. While at the University of Pennsylvania, she served as a lecturer and Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, as well as contributing to several committees. She was a Charter Member of the American Hospital Association’s Society for Hospital Social Work Directors from 1966 until her death. She was its first Chairperson.

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