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NASW Foundation Celebrating 20th Year of Pioneer Program

The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) today and Saturday will commemorate the 20th year of its NASW Social Work Pioneers program with a celebration featuring some of the most influential social workers in the nation. During the Pioneers 10th Annual Program and Luncheon NASWF will also induct nine new social workers into the Pioneers program, which was created to honor social workers who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the profession.

“Pioneers are the role models for future generations of social workers,” said Bob Arnold, director of the NASW Foundation. “The contributions they have made to social work are reflected in the creation of numerous government policies and human services programs that have improved the lives of people from all walks of society, including children who are at-risk, the elderly, veterans and people who are living with mental illnesses.”

The nine people who will be inducted into the Pioneers program are Kathleen Ell, DSW, from the University of Southern California (USC); Marilyn Flynn, PhD, MSW, dean of the USC School of Social Work; the late Jessie Donaldson Hodder from Massachusetts; Sol Gothard, JD, ACSW, from Louisiana; the late Martha Hayden Kendall Holmes from Oklahoma; Julia Norlin, PhD, ACSW, from Oklahoma; Kenneth Richard Wedel, PhD, MSW, from Oklahoma; W. June Simmons, MSW, from California; and the late Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from New York.

The celebration will be held at the historic Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Richard Barth, dean of the University of Maryland School of Social Work and founding board member and founding president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW), will do an afternoon keynote speech on Oct. 17 on “Grand Challenges in Social Work and the Implementation Strategies.”Robert Cohen, MSW, JD, will address “Twenty Years: An Historical Recapitulation of the NASW Social Work Pioneer Program.”

On Oct. 18 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) CEO and  NASWF President Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, will speak to attendees about “We, Us and Our: Operational Context and Content for NASW,” and NASW President and NASWF Board Member Darrell Wheeler, PhD, ACSW, MPH, will share his vision for the association during his tenure.

— Source: National Association of Social Workers Foundation