NASW Executive Director
 Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH
Executive Director
National Association of Social Workers
Dr. Elizabeth Clark is the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers. Located in Washington, DC, the NASW is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world with nearly 150,000 members. In addition to promoting, developing, and protecting the practice of social work and social workers, NASW has a strong social justice and advocacy mission. Dr. Clark is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and of the National Academies of Practice in Social Work. She sits on the Board of Directors of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, as well as the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research and the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research. Dr. Clark is on the Leadership Council for the Council on Social Work Education. She is the co-principal investigator of the National Study of Licensed Social Workers Project.
Dr. Clark’s background is health care with a specialization in oncology. She has worked in direct clinical practice; has held several academic positions including an Associate Professorship in Medical Oncology; has been a hospital administrator; has conducted research and has published in areas such as cancer survivorship and bereavement. Dr. Clark is past president of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, an advisory board member of the Intercultural Cancer Council, a partner with C-Change: Collaborating to Conquer Cancer. She also consults with the People to People Ambassador Program, and has led Social Work delegations to China, Cambodia and South Africa. Dr. Clark will continue NASW’s collaboration with the People to People Ambassador Programs in October 2009, leading a delegation of social workers to Egypt.
She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work and a master’s of public health from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in medical sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Clark is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
NASW Initiatives
Through her dedication to NASW and to the profession of social work, NASW has excelled under Dr. Clark’s leadership by developing several initiatives to enhance the profession of social work, including:
Professional Experience
Dr. Clark has served in numerous administrative positions in social work, health care and academia. Her most recent positions, prior to becoming Executive Director of NASW, show the depth of her commitment to social work:
- Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers New York State Chapter
- Chief Operating Officer for The March…Coming Together to Conquer Cancer, a national public awareness and grassroots organizing campaign
- Director of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services at Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY
- Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at Albany Medical College
Awards and Distinctions
Dr. Clark has many distinctions and awards from her dedication to social work:
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| 2006 Ray of Hope Award, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship |
2006 Honorary Doctorate, Wartburg College, Waverly, IA |
- Member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers
- 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
- 1998 Leadership in Oncology Award, Association of Oncology Social Work
- 1995 Social Work Administrator of the Year Award, Empire State Chapter of the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care
- 1994 Social Worker of the Year, Northeast New York Division of NASW
Education
She holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work, and Master of Public Health in Health Services Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a Master of Sociology and a Doctorate in Medical Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
NASW Outreach
Every other month, Dr. Clark writes a column for the NASW News reflecting on timely social work news. To read her columns, please visit the NASW News.
Speaking Engagements
As Executive Director of NASW, Dr. Clark is a distinguished speaker at many conferences across the country and around the world:
February, 2006 – Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting
Old, Poor and Vulnerable: The Other Side of the Baby Boom
Dr. Clark offered a social work mandate for dealing with the needs of baby boomers, saying that social workers “must have input into framing the problems and issues and not simply accept the media’s perspective.”
Promoting Leadership in Aging – Leadership in Practice Today: How to Prepare Leaders in Social Work Practice
Dr. Clark noted the key challenges of the social work workforce and addressed the ways to support social work practitioners in transition to leadership roles.
March, 2006 – NASW Center for Workforce Studies News Briefing
Assuring the Sufficiency of a Frontline Workforce: A National Study of Licensed Social Workers
“Now that we know the magnitude of the service gap revealed by the study, we recognize that a public-private partnership, including government investment in the social worker profession, will be essential if we are to assure the well-being of our children and our aging population.” – Dr. Elizabeth Clark
March, 2006 – Joint Conference of the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging
The Convergence of the Helping Professions in Aging: Common Ground or Battlefield
Half a century ago, the helping professions (medicine, nursing, social work, public health, etc.) each practiced within clearly delineated domains. Public policies, the development of science and the distinguishable needs of diverse communities among the factors that have resulted in duplicative domains among many of the helping professions.
Dr. Clark was a panelist, with a representative from the American Nurses Association, the American Medical Association and the UCLA School of Public Health. The session was moderated by Dr. Jeannette Takamura from the Columbia University School of Social Work.
March, 2006 – CREEK Program Meeting
Community-Based Research Education
The Community-based Research Education in Eastern Kentucky (CREEK) is an innovative program aimed at increasing the knowledge and skills of students who are interested in improving their communities. The goal is to build community capacity to address major health concerns affecting people in rural and underserved communities.
During her presentation, Dr. Clark noted key challenges for the social work profession:
- Social work educational system developed largely from urban roots
- Social work students may receive limited content on rural social work practice
- The understanding of rural people and cultures must be an issue of cultural competence in professional social work
- We must guarantee a social work labor force to meet the needs of, and address the unique social problems of, rural communities.
“Social workers are often the ‘key’ that opens doors of access to many services for those facing health challenges.” – Dr. Elizabeth Clark
April, 2006 – BIO Annual International Convention
Creating the Informed Patient: Placing Health-Care Decisions Back in the Patient’s Hands
During her presentation, Dr. Clark highlighted a social worker’s role in health care decisions:
- Identify and address barriers to information and health care access
- Ensure that the patient has access to education, support and other resources needed to make health care decisions
- Ensure that the patient understands complex medical information
- Ensure that barriers to adherence are addressed and remediated
She also discussed a social worker’s role in clinical trials:
- Assess for and eliminate barriers to patient health literacy
- Assess for and eliminate barriers to informed consent
- Intervene to ensure complex medical information is understood and patient is capable of making informed health care decisions
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