NASW Assurance Services Inc. recently announced the newest members of its board of directors.
New NASW President James Kelly (upper right), provost and executive vice president of Menlo College in Atherton, Ca.; and Betsy Cauble (lower right), head of the Department of Social Work and associate professor at Kansas State University (KSU), began their new roles as members of the Assurance Services Board of Directors in July.
The two join Jean Parr, program director of the American Chemical Society’s Member Insurance program; and Deborah Reyes, president of Capital American Mortgage Co., in being the most recent members selected for the board. Parr and Reyes were appointed in February.
NASW Assurance Services Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NASW, responsible for designing, securing and overseeing high-quality, competitive insurance, financial and other programs and services offered to social workers.
The board members participate in the decision-making process for overseeing NASW Assurance Services programs and services on behalf of NASW members, according to Tony Benedetto, executive vice president for NASW Assurance Services.
Kelly, a past-president of the NASW California Chapter, is a social work educator, having worked previously in the California State University system as a professor, associate vice president of continuing and international education and interim provost at California State University, East Bay.
As a former consultant to the United Nations, he is a strong advocate for social justice. He received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and his MSSW from the University of Tennessee. He is immediate past-president, California Institute of Mental Health; board member, National Network for Social Work Managers; and founding editorial board member, Journal of Women and Aging. He was named 1987 National Social Worker of the Year for his work in developing services for people with AIDS.
Cauble, a past president of the NASW Kansas Chapter and a former member of the NASW Board of Trustees, has taught in the social work program at KSU since 1993. She received her MSW and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to coming to KSU, Cauble was a child welfare administrator at Franklin County Children’s Services in Columbus, Ohio.
At KSU, Cauble has been involved in the development of child welfare training modules. She co-directed the Social and Rehabilitation Services Training Grant from 1997 to 2000 and conducted focus groups throughout Kansas as part of a U.S. Department of Justice grant awarded through the Juvenile Justice Authority of Kansas to assess community needs in the area of juvenile justice. She also participates in the Manhattan Network to End Violence Against Women. Her primary area of teaching is social work practice and public policy. Cauble’s research interests involve the child welfare system and how violence against children constitutes a community health risk. She also studies behavioral health preparedness response and recovery in rural areas.
Rounding out the NASW Assurance Services Board of Directors are Board President Richard Jones, president and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services; Elizabeth J. Clark, executive director of NASW; Board Treasurer Yvonne Chase, clinical assistant professor with the University of Alaska/Anchorage School of Social Work; Board Secretary Paul D’Agostino, executive director of the Child Abuse Council; and Linda Shearer, associate executive director of the Immanuel Lutheran Communities in Kalispell, Mont.