15 FEB 2024 · Dr. Lakeya Cherry is a Partner at Evolution and an executive leadership coach who has dedicated her career to the growth and development of individuals and the organizations they are a part of, and she is the former Chief Executive Officer of The Network for Social Work Management. She also serves as a Commissioner on the City of San Diego Commission on the Status of Women, which helps to address the needs of women in San Diego in their social, economic, and vocational pursuits. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/fewer-people-want-to-lead-nonprofits-whats-the-answer https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakeyacherry/

29 JAN 2024 · This episode is from a second group of undergraduate students from my Social Welfare Policy class in Fall 2023. They took my challenge to put together a recording that I could use in my podcast that would demonstrate what they learned in class. This assignment was part of their group project. Each group had to make a presentation that covered these four questions: What is the problem you have identified in your community and why does this problem exist? What are the potential solutions to this problem? How does a relationship with your elected official and/or staff help you to implement solutions to your problem? As a social worker what will be your role in influencing government policies that affect your clients and their communities? Their presentations had to demonstrate that they could analyze the connection between their relationships with elected officials/staff and the policy-making process. Their project focused on a city called El Monte, CA, population 107,000, which is about 18 miles East of Downtown Los Angeles. Congratulations to my students for their contribution to this podcast: Jessica Carlos Eva Kha Emily Lopez-Zarate Emma Rodriguez

15 JAN 2024 · Ahmanise is currently a counselor working with the foster, homeless, and juvenile justice students in LAUSD. Prior to that, she established the foundation of her social work career in the mental health department of the LA County jail system. She is also a community organizer and cofounder of Westside Activists, Regional Director of NASW-California chapter, an executive board member and Delegate for the California Democratic Party, and actively working on her passion project–to establish a permanent library system for all incarcerated individuals. NPR report: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/19/1158194993/volunteers-are-trying-to-get-books-into-the-l-a-county-jail-which-has-no-library LAist Article: https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/la-jails-books-sheriff-los-angeles Spectrum 1 News: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/human-interest/2023/07/01/passages-and-pathways-out-of-prison-

5 JAN 2024 · This episode is from a group of undergraduate students from my Social Welfare Policy class in Fall 2023. They took my challenge to put together a recording that I could use in my podcast that would demonstrate what they learned in class. I am really excited to share their thoughts with you. This assignment was part of their group project. Each group had to make a presentation that covered these four questions: What is the problem you have identified in your community and why does this problem exist? What are the potential solutions to this problem? How does a relationship with your elected official and/or staff help you to implement solutions to your problem? As a social worker what will be your role in influencing government policies that affect your clients and their communities? Their presentations had to demonstrate that they could analyze the connection between their relationships with elected officials/staff and the policy-making process. Congratulations to Jamie Gomez, Natalie Rosales, Aaron DeLaO, Destiny Vargas, Alyssa Rosado for their great work on this episode!

11 DEC 2023 · Dr. Wehrmann resides in Champaign, Illinois. She has deep roots in this community after living there for over forty years. She loves its diversity as a university community as well as the wide range of cultural opportunities it offers. She received both her MSW and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She is retired from Illinois State University, School of Social Work after 20 years. While at the ISU, Dr. Wehrrmann was successful in obtaining major federal child welfare training grants that supported students seeking careers in child welfare. In addition, she worked on evaluation projects focused on evidence based mental health service approaches to children and adolescents. Dr. Wehrmann has served in many roles with the National Association of Social Workers, most recently as National Board President (2017-2020). In her role as NASW Board President she also served on the International Federation of Social Work Secretariat representing the North American Region. She is also an NASW Social Work Pioneer (https://www.naswfoundation.org/Our-Work/NASW-Social-Work-Pioneers) and a Fulbrighter to Romania where she taught child welfare policy and researched child welfare reform efforts. She currently serves as the chair of the Steering Committee for the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/). She is also developing a coaching practice with a colleague focused on social work graduates preparing for licensure.

27 NOV 2023 · Dr. Jacob Kendall helps social workers embrace their macro, pivot their careers, and land their next job (in 90 days). He's a résumé wizard and a true wordsmith (his clients' words). Jacob envisions more social workers not only breaking into other industries, but becoming leaders in those areas. He contends that there is no table at which social workers don't belong. He has a truly interdisciplinary background, having formally studied biology, demography, public health, social work, gerontology, and theology, and being an avid reader across a wide range, from horror fiction to quantum mechanics, with forays in history, geography, animal behavior, and philosophy. Unsurprisingly, his favorite professional endeavor is bridging gaps between disparate disciplines, and helping others -- especially social workers -- do the same. On a side note, he's visited 25 countries so far, identifies as an amateur birdwatcher, and has been tickling ivories since age 6. website: https://theversatilesocialworker.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobevanskendall https://www.linkedin.com/company/theversatilesocialworker IG: @jacobevanskendall

13 NOV 2023 · Dr. Manalo cites Dr. Shannon R. Lane and Dr. Suzanne Pritzker from their 2018 textbook, Political Social Work: Using Power to Create Social Change to outline the 5 areas of Political Social Work Practice: 1) Engaging Individuals and Communities in Political Processes; 2) Influencing Policy Agendas and Decision-Making; 3) Holding Professional and Political Staff Positions; 4) Engaging in Electoral Campaigns; and 5) Seeking and Holding Elected Office. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-68588-5

30 OCT 2023 · Anjanette Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and graduate of Jane Addams School of Social Work at The University of Illinois Chicago. She obtained a master’s degree in clinical social work with a special interest in Mental Health with individuals and families. Anjanette has worked in the profession for over 26 years and her passion for people and her professional ethics is rooted in her DNA. Anjanette professional work has been with individuals, children, and families in the Chicago area. She is the President and CEO of Café Social Work consulting LLC, and, after a horrifying incident involving the Chicago Police Department, she continues to fight for justice for herself and other families who have experienced harm by the City of Chicago Police Department. https://www.cafesocialwork.com/subscriptions https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0886109921996067 https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/dahleen-glanton/ct-anjanette-young-raid-20201221-e23lqpliqvhvpkgenwp4i34sme-story.html https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/12/18/anjanette-young-wrong-raid-gofundme/amp/?__twitter_impression=true https://www.monmouth.edu/igu/2021/10/18/ssw/ https://fb.watch/aJaTQKa5Af/ https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-mornings/video/lHGpRexwKUP7VWGkJzZtYQn_byvYd4Gy/anjanette-young-on-2-9-million-settlement-the-money-is-not-justice-/

14 OCT 2023 · Sharon Gandarilla-Javier is the President of the NASW-Florida chapter and a retired New York City Police Officer with over 20 years of combined experience in law enforcement and social work. In New York, she has worked as a forensic social worker for both the public and private sectors. She received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Albany, her MSW from Fordham, and her MA in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Gandarilla-Javier has taught at Morgan State University, State University of New York Orange and Mount Saint Mary College. More recently, she has dedicated her research to police, social work and the mentally ill population, intimate partner violence and police response, and understanding PTSD among police officers. The Macro Social Work Mentor Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 45 Social Work Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/social_work_podcasts/

2 OCT 2023 · David Perez is the first social worker hired directly by a public library in the state of New Jersey. He served ten years in the U.S. Army, over fifteen years in healthcare business, and he has been a library social worker at the Long Branch Free Public Library (LBFPL) since 2015. He received his Master of Social Work with a concentration in International and Community Development from Monmouth University and is currently a Masters of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) student at Rutgers University School of Communication & Information Sciences. David has taken the lead on a collaboration between the Long Branch Free Public Library and the NJ State Parole Board to make the Long Branch Free Public Library an official county wide “Reconnection Center” offering Re-Entry services for justice involved individuals.