Bailey Named NASW President

Washington — Washington — Gary Bailey, MSW, originally from Cleveland, Ohio and currently residing in Boston, Mass., has been named president of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) — the largest professional organization of social workers worldwide.

Like Whitney Young, Jr. — the first African American to be named president of NASW — Bailey believes that social workers need to “support the strong, give courage to the timid, remind the indifferent, and warn the opposed.”

Bailey is currently Associate Professor at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the Eliot Pearson School of Child Study at Tufts University, in Medford, Mass., in 1977, and his Master of Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work in 1979.

Dedicated to the belief that “social justice and human rights are the soul of social work,” Bailey strongly encourages all social workers to be active and involved beyond routine responsibilities.

Prior to his position at Simmons College, Bailey served as the executive director of Parents and Children’s Services of the Children’s Mission, Inc., in Boston, where he managed the more than 150-year-old child welfare agency’s $4.5 million budget, its staff and a variety of services. In his career, he has also worked with the elderly, communities of color, and individuals and families.

Bailey has also served on the board of several institutions/organizations, including: United Homes for Children, Inc., in Dorchester, Mass.; Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc., at Harvard University; Massachusetts Maternity and Foundling Hospital Corporation, Inc.; and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, in Boston. He was also appointed honorary board member of the American AIDS Political Action Committee, in Washington, D.C.

For more information about Gary Bailey, MSW or to interview him, please contact NASW Communications Department at media@naswdc.org.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members.  It promotes, develops and protects the practice of social work and social workers.  NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families and communities through advocacy.