Hope Conference Speakers

Joan Levy Zlotnik, PhD, ACSW
Director, Social Work Policy Institute
National Association of Social Workers

Joan Levy Zlotnik, PhD, ACSW, currently serves as the director of the Social Work Policy Institute (SWPI), a think tank established in the NASW Foundation to create a forum to enhance social work’s voice in the public policy arena and to use research findings to inform policy and practice. The Institute examines current and future issues in healthcare and social service delivery and brings together researchers, practitioners, educators, and policy makers to develop agendas for action. 

Dr. Zlotnik’s pioneering work has focused on forging academic/agency partnerships and on strengthening the bridges between research, practice, policy, and education.  She is a recognized expert on workforce issues for the social work profession and author of numerous publications and monographs, including those that address evidence-based practice.  Dr. Zlotnik previously served as Executive Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR) and also served as Director of special projects at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) after working at NASW from 1987 to 1994.  She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Children’s Bureau and to the National Institutes of Health and has led several foundation-funded projects on interprofessional education and practice, university/agency research partnerships, aging, and preparing practitioners for family-focused service delivery.

Dr. Zlotnik is an NASW Social Work Pioneer® and a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and was identified as one of the six most influential social workers in the US by the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She earned her MSSW from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and her PhD from the University of Maryland. Dr. Zlotnik is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

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