The Macro Social Work Mentor – Details, episodes & analysis

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.