Patricia J. Britt was appointed, unanimously, by Cleveland City Council, as City Clerk, Clerk of Council on January 14, 2008.  As Clerk of Council, Britt is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Office of Cleveland City Council. 

In order to enable the work in Council, Britt is responsible for overseeing Cleveland City Council’s Staff in the creation of policies and procedures, media relations, negotiation of contracts, management of City Council’s $7.3 million budget, and working with the 17 Members of Council and their Executive Assistants.

Prior to being appointed to serve as City Clerk, Clerk of Council, Britt was a Member of Cleveland City Council, representing Ward 6 from 1995 to 2008. Throughout her tenure as Councilwoman, Britt concentrated her efforts on stabilizing the assets in the Ward and facilitating opportunities for community and economic growth.

Britt served as a member of the Field Education Faculty of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University from 1990 to 2008. Britt has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Howard University, a certificate in State and Local Government from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a Master Municipal Clerk. 

Civic & Political Engagement for Social Workers:  Workshop and Discussion
Register:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9tyS5oRqQ8-roNokpegVHg

My interview today is with Judy Verduzco, Public Counsel’s Director of Social Work. Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice.  In this position, she leads Public Counsel’s efforts to nurture a trauma-informed and client-centered culture throughout the organization. 

We will be talking about her work with Public Counsel, here in Los Angeles, an organization that has evolved from a purely legal services agency to one that has social workers on staff as interdisciplinary partners in furthering the legal cases of their clients–and they are talking about self-care, the importance of supervision and so much more!!!  You have to stay tuned to listen to my interview with Judy on this episode of the Macro Social Work Mentor.

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-#

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!

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.

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/
www.linkedin.com/in/jacobevanskendall
https://www.linkedin.com/company/theversatilesocialworker
IG: @jacobevanskendall

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.

Political Social Work: Using Power to Create Social Change

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.

30 Days to the Finish Line: Conquering the Mountain to Social Work Licensure


#IAmHer: Anjanette Young Speaks Truth to Power


Anjanette Young reminds Black women of their ancestors who stood naked on a slave auction block.


Anjanette Young, Victim of Wrong Raid, Using Fundraising Effort to Help Others Seek Justice


Monmouth University: Living beyond trauma.


Essential Chat with MIT Joyner, NASW President

Anjanette Young exclusive with Gayle King CBS Morning Show

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/

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.

Marla Blunt-Carter is an accomplished Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers University School of Social Work in New Brunswick, NJ, with a deep interest in social policy, community organizing, advocacy, and political social work. Professor Blunt-Carter earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Delaware, and a Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers University. Her unique perspective blends her professional political and public policy experience with social work practice approaches, inspiring and educating her students about macro-social work.

Before joining the faculty at Rutgers, Professor Blunt-Carter held several high-profile positions, including serving as the Projects Manager and Director of Constituent Services in the Senate Office of then-U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., State Director for the 2008 Obama/Biden Presidential Campaign, and White House Staffer-Senior Agency Liaison in the Executive Office of President for the Obama/Biden Administration. Professor Blunt-Carter is the senior advisor and political strategist for U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, and has been appointed by President Biden to serve on the Presidential Commission on Advancing Excellence, Educational Equity, and Economic Opportunities for Black Americans.

Along with my new segment, "This Doesn't Just Happen!", you can listen to my interview with Valerie Arendt. Valerie is the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers North Carolina (NASW-NC), where she leads the association’s efforts to advance the profession of social work in North Carolina. She is a registered lobbyist and actively lobbies North Carolina lawmakers on behalf of the members of NASW-North Carolina Chapter.

Valerie has her Master of Social Work and Public Policy degrees from the University of Minnesota. She has a wide breadth of social work experience includes a focus on refugee and immigrant families, early childhood education, women and youth education, affordable housing, and nonprofit management. She was the career columnist for the national New Social Worker Magazine for three years and strives to help new professionals successfully transition into their social work careers.

Dr. Joan Zlotnik has focused on strengthening the bridges between research, practice, policy and education. She worked for three national social work organizations between 1987 and 2018. From 2009 to 2015 she  directed NASW’s Social Work Policy Institute, and served as the executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research from 2000 to 2009.

Dr. Zlotnik is an internationally recognized expert and author of numerous publications. Her expertise has been sought by government agencies and think tanks and she has led several foundation-funded projects. Dr. Zlotnik is an NASW Social Work Pioneer® and was the 2012 alumni of the year for the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She currently is a consultant on developing and maintaining strategic partnerships.

I have known of Dr. Zlotnik and her policy work with NASW for many years, so I was thrilled to meet her at the 2024 NASW National Conference in Washington DC, where she attended my panel presentation on political social work!  I had to invite her to be on the podcast.

Fatima Salman is a macro social worker and community organizer. She is part of the ENGAGE team at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and she is the Project Manager for the Employment Equity Action and Learning Collaborative, a collaborative of 65+ stakeholders working in Detroit, MI. She currently is the President of the NASW Michigan chapter, is also the Chairperson of the NASW Council of Chapter Presidents’ Steering Committee.

In this interview, Fatima recounts the story of how she helped to organize thousands of people in the largest protest of Trump's "Muslim Ban" at the Detroit Airport, and how her MSW program transitioned her from activist to macro social worker.

Coy Stout is senior vice president and head of patient advocacy and policy at Brii Biosciences, a small biotechnology company focused on advancing treatments and cures for diseases with high public health burden and social stigmas. At Brii Bio, Coy works with patients and advocates to connect the patient journey to drug development and to support efforts to increase awareness and education about infectious disease and mental health.

I will give you an example of how an organized group of people influenced me as the then-Mayor of the City of Artesia, and how that event helped me to see how social workers could influence their local elected officials to promote changes in their communities, neighborhoods, and cities.

Dr. Manalo interviews Sabrina Gillan, MSW, a strategic social justice advocate who specializes in policies that alleviate human suffering. She currently serves as the Chief Strategic Partnership Officer for Brilliant Corners, a supportive housing agency focusing on Californians exiting institutionalization or chronic homelessness. In this role she is responsible for fund development, government affairs, and key stakeholder partnerships.

Previously, Sabrina enjoyed a twelve year career with The Salvation Army, where her early direct practice experience informed her policy advocacy and leadership work.

Sabrina received her Masters of Social Work with a concentration in social change from George Mason University. She sits on The Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work, and has co-authored an entry on “Lobbying” in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Social Work as well as the updated entry in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work.

In this episode, Dr. Manalo begins the first of three episodes on how to engage with your local government. After he was elected to the Artesia City Council in 2007, he heard from one of his constituents about a problem that she was having in her neighborhood. Dr. Manalo shares his lessons learned from trying to address and solve this problem. He has turned this experience into an assignment for his undergraduate social work students.

In this episode, I interview Deborah Son, MSW, Director of the Family Violence Appellate Project in Oakland, California. Deborah was formerly the Executive Director for the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter, where we met and worked together. Deborah shares her journey to macro practice, as a woman of color, and what she has learned about macro social work practice. She will also tell us about her work with the Family Violence Appellate Project.

When it came to "policy", my social work education focused primarily on social policy history and social policy analysis, primarily at the federal level. How did I get involved in local government? In this episode, I will share the story of how I developed my interest in local government and running for office, and why I believe that we social workers should be actively engaged in local government. Thanks to my former student, Fernando Partida, for teaching me more advanced editing skills and for choosing intro music that is much more aligned with my intent for the podcast! Enjoy!

The most significant relationships in my professional career began by following my gut and connecting with social workers that I admired.

Social Workers need to know the difference between public and private relationships to be successful in using relationships as a "method of change".

What is our social work superpower, and how can we use our superpower as an important vehicle for change at the mezzo and macro levels.

Episode 5 is my interview with Heather Bradley-Geary.

Bradley-Geary is the Director of Supportive Housing for The Vecino Group.  Since 2014, Vecino Group has developed 29 supportive housing communities in 10 states, ending homelessness for 750 households annually.  

Prior to her work at Vecino Group, Bradley-Geary worked at Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC).  While at MHDC, Bradley-Geary created the Community Initiatives Department, overseeing $20 million (annually) in homeless funds for the state of Missouri and overseeing the Joplin Housing recovery.  

In addition to her work at the Vecino Group, Bradley-Geary is an adjunct Professor in the Social Welfare program at the University of Kansas, most recently being awarded the University of Kansas Dean’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching and Mignot Award.  Bradley-Geary works tirelessly to end homelessness, acting as a legislative captain for the National Alliance to End Homelessness and testifying before congress in the passage of HR 3700.  She volunteers her time as a youth group leader at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Overland Park, Kansas.  Bradley-Geary resides in Olathe, Kansas with her husband, Brian.  They are proud parents of two collegiate athletes.

Victor Manalo Coaching and Consulting

Unlock your potential as a catalyst for change with my specialized social work coaching program! Designed for aspiring social work leaders and passionate advocates, you will be empowered to drive meaningful transformation to enhance neighborhoods, uplift communities, and optimize agency and organizational processes. Join me to build resilient communities, to increase political influence, and become the agent of change you were meant to be!  

In the first episode of this podcast, I share with my listeners the reasons why I wanted to start this podcast and I give you the overview of my over 30 years of experience in mezzo/macro social work practice as a former elected city councilman and Mayor, local government consultant, and Associate Professor in Social Work. I tell the story of how I decided to pursue macro social work and give you a preview of the next episode.

Dr. Manalo shares with you how he came to realize the relevance of politics to social workers and the importance of political action to social workers.

Today, I have three guests who will be discussing their work in social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Gokul Mandayam:  Dr. Gokul Mandayam, is a macro practice faculty member in the MSW Program at the Rhode Island College School of Social Work. Prior to that he worked with the University at Buffalo School of Social Work (UBSSW) and was affiliated with the school’s interdisciplinary social innovation and social entrepreneurship initiative. 

Dr. Marissa Kaloga:  Dr. Marissa Kaloga is the Hynds Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Auckland Business School's award winning Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in au·tee·uh·row·uh, New Zealand. She holds an MSW and PhD in Social Work from the Ohio State University College of Social Work. 

Ian Williams:  I am a doctoral student in the Ph.D. Program in Social Welfare at The CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. My research investigates how organizations adopt, integrate, and decide on technologies and other innovations - and how this affects caring fields such as social work. 

They are here representing the Social Work Innovation Network, and you will hear more about each one of them and the Social Work Innovation Network.


Resources from Guests

From Dr. Gokul Mandayam:  
Book:  'Design Social Change: Take Action, Work Towards Equity and Challenge the Status Quo' 'Annapurna Pariwar' organization found by Dr. Medha Samant 
Interview with Dr. Medha Samant

From Dr. Marissa Kaloga:
Spotify link: Hildegard Von Bingen 
New Yorker Article about her life
Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hynds Fellows: 
Junctures

From Ian Williams:
SWIN’s LinkedIn page
SWIN Interest Form
EMES International Research Network’s summer program in Trento
The call for proposals for the special issue for the journal Human Service Organizations: Governance, Leadership, Management. 
David Graeber quote: “The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.”
Graeber, D. 2015. “Dead zones of the imagination: An essay on structural stupidity” The utopia of rules: On technology, stupidity, and the secret joys of bureaucracy. Melville House.

We will be talking about Artificial Intelligence or AI and Social Work on this episode of the Macro Social Work Mentor.

Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz is an experienced school administrator and counseling director with a demonstrated history of working in community mental health and in education as a social worker. Currently, Dr. Badillo-Diaz is a consultant focusing on the training of educators and social workers with MABD Consulting. She is also an adjunct professor and board member of the National School Social Work Association of America. She is also the author of the blog, “The AI Social Worker”, a 21st Century Skills and AI guide for Social Workers. Her areas of interest include 21st-century skills, social-emotional learning programming, school social work practice, education, youth mental health, clinical supervision for social workers, AI Applications, data management, and career development.

Dr. Amanda Baranski is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker located in Denver, Colorado. She serves MSW students as a faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Baranski currently serves as the president of the National Association of Social Workers Colorado chapter and the co-chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. She has clinical experience in hospital social work, mental health, recovery services, education, mediation, and consultation services. Specialized areas of focus include AI in social work, ambiguous grief and loss, queer issues, mental illness, and substance use disorders.

The AI Social Worker

The Prompt Library

Episode 2 is an interview with fellow social worker, Brittany Pinson.  I met Brittany through LinkedIn.  I came across her LinkedIn page, where she identifies herself as a macro social worker, and I was intrigued with her experience in New York City.  I sent her a message on LinkedIn, we set up a time to chat, and we finally recorded the interview!

Brittany Pinson, LMSW is a Program Officer at the City of New York, systems disrupter, learning & development practitioner, and fierce diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate. Previously, she worked at the NYC Mayor’s Office as a Training & Curriculum Specialist, supporting organizational development initiatives, and co-leading the Healthcare Working Group. Brittany is interested in poverty alleviation, trauma-responsive practices, diversity, equity, inclusion, and organizational development. She is from Michigan, a Swiftie, and enjoys listening to podcasts and traveling solo. Brittany earned a Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from Wayne State University and a Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) with a specialization in Leadership & Macro Practice from Fordham University.

Dr. Kathy Wehrman is my guest today, and we’re going to discuss the CONNECT TO END COVID-19 Initiative and the important role social workers can play across micro and macro levels.
 
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. Wehrmann 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 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. She is also developing a coaching practice with a colleague focused on social work graduates preparing for licensure.

Connect to End Covid-19 Initiative
NASW Social Work Pioneers
Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
Contact Dr. Wehrmann:  kcwehrm@ilstu.edu
Contact Dr. Victor Manalo:  victor@victormanalo.com

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.

“Fewer People Want to Lead Nonprofits. What’s the Answer?”

LinkedIn

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