Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the NASW Board of Directors is responsible for the affairs of the Association between meetings of the Board of Directors.  The Committee consists of Officers of the Board, the President-Elect of the Association and four additional members of the Board who are appointed by the NASW President.

President

Yvonne Elder Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW


Yvonne Chase

Yvonne Elder Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, is Professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She received her PhD from Norfolk State University and her MSW from Howard University. Her extensive leadership experience at the NASW chapter and national levels included: president of the Alaska chapter, member of the boards of NASW and the NASW Assurance Services, Inc., chair of the NASW National Committee on Inquiry and the Task Force on Professional Review; member of the NASW Foundation Gosnell Memorial Scholarship Panel and the NASW Competence Certification Commission renamed the Credentialing Committee. Currently she serves as board member & treasurer, NASW Assurance Services, Inc. Organizational affiliations include the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice (Formerly American Orthopsychiatry Association), and editorial board for the Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. Chase has obtained the LCSW in the State of Alaska and holds NASW’s ACSW credential.


Vice President

Debra Faria, LCSW, ACSW


Dabra Faria

Debra Faria, LCSW, ACSW is Clinical Associate Professor Emeriti at SUNY Brockport where she developed and coordinated the Graduate Certificate in Gerontological Social Work and served in the roles of department chair and field education director/coordinator. She has administered federal, state and foundation training grants focusing on child welfare, gerontological social work, health, and mental health services. Debra has served on several professional and advisory boards including past-chair of the NASW National Committee on Women’s Issues, Division III director on the NASW Board of Directors and past president of the NASW-NYS Chapter of NASW. She also served on the National Advisory Board of the CSWE Gero-Ed Center, CSWE Field Council and board of the State Society on Aging of NY. She is the recipient of several awards and honors including Outstanding HPPAE Principal Investigator Faculty Award from The Social Work Leadership Institute of the NY Academy of Medicine, Social Worker of the Year award from the Genesee Valley Division of NASW-NYS, and Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from Rochester Institute of Technology. Debra currently serves on the CSWE Commission on Accreditation. She earned her MSW from Syracuse University and her BSW from Rochester Institute of Technology. As a NYS Licensed Clinical Social Worker Debra’s clinical and administrative practice is in the areas of gerontological and medical social work


Secretary

Robin G. Arndt, MSW, LSW


Robin Arndt

Robin G. Arndt, MSW, LSW (Hawaii Chapter), is a coordinator of field and continuing education at the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Arndt is an active member of the NASW Hawaiʻi chapter, where he currently serves as chapter president. He has also held other leadership roles within the chapter, including member-at-large and chair of several committees, including the Continuing Education and Conference Committee. Arndt also serves as a commissioner on the Commission for Membership and Professional Development with the Council on Social Work Education.


Treasurer & Compliance Officer

S. Ryan Estes, MSW, MBA, LCSW, LCAS, CCS


Ryan Estes

Ryan Estes, MSW, MBA, LCSW, LCAS, CCS is the Treatment Operations Director for Coastal Horizons Center. Estes received his MSW from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MBA from UNC-Wilmington, and a BA in psychology from Wake Forest University. Estes is a licensed clinical social worker and licensed clinical addiction specialist. His work at Coastal Horizons Center focuses on program development, fiscal and policy oversight, and clinical and administrative consultation. Estes oversees $30M of a non-profit budget, his supervisory chain includes over 300 employees and he has successfully added 250 social work positions at his company. Estes is a part-time adjunct faculty for UNC-Wilmington. He is part of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, treasurer for NC Child Board, and a national Protective Factors trainer. He is also a former president of the NASW-NC Chapter Board, the current NASW Board region V director, a member of the NASW national Finance Committee, and a voting delegate.


Director, Region III

Cindy Bautista-Thomas, PhD, LCSW


Cindy Bautista-Thomas

Cindy Bautista-Thomas, PhD, LCSW, is a Doctoral Lecturer at Lehman College, Department of Social Work, City University of New York. She obtained her PhD and MPhil from the Urban Education program at the City University of New York, Graduate Center, her MSW from University at Albany, State University of New York, and her BSW from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

With over 20 years of social work experience in early intervention, child welfare, public schools, higher education and work within nonprofit and corporate entities, Bautista-Thomas has provided training and workshop facilitation through her company Velocity Visions, Inc., in the areas of toxic stress, leadership development, effective communication, burn out prevention, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, self-care, mental health, incorporating mindfulness and contemplative practices.


Director, Region V

Alice Kay Locklear, PhD, MSW, ACSW


Alice Kay LocklearAlice Kay Locklear, PhD, MSW, ACSW, is Professor and Assistant Chair of the Social Work Department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She is the first Native American female in the Department to hold a PhD and is dedicated to the ethical practice of the social work profession. Locklear is a member of the Council on Social Work Education and several other professional organizations. She is enthusiastic about working with diverse populations. The meaning of oppression, minority, and social injustice are reality topics in her work addressing multifaceted social disparities and inequalities. She values social work knowledge and skills coupled with being a Keeper of the Land, as expressed through her commitment and honor to the profession.

Locklear is experienced in clinical practices in mental health and substance use, agency consultation and collaboration, community education and trainer. She considers it a privilege to serve as an advocate in areas such as cultural competence, integration of circular interventions, social belonging practices, and Indigenous Knowledge for the purpose of health and well-being of all. She is active in social work curricula instrumentation and scholarly works, while serving on local, national, and international committees, her most recent appointment being NASW’s National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity


Director, Region IX

Anthony A. Bibus, PhD, LISW


Anthony A. Bibus

Anthony Bibus, PhD, LISW, is a social worker licensed by Minnesota’s Board of Social Work.  He holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and a MA and BA in English. In 2012, he retired from Augsburg University’s social work department, where he served as the BSW director and department chair.  

For three decades he has been an active NASW member serving the NASW Minnesota Chapter as a member of the conference planning team or moderator at conferences/events and serving on multiple committees. Bibus has been a long-term member of other national and regional associations including CSWE and has worked periodically with ASWB. He is a contributor to the CSWE/ASWB/NASW Curricular Guide for Licensing and Regulation . His practice and studies in child welfare, supervision, and ethics led to several publications, most lately on cultural humility. He is the recipient of the NASW-MN Chapter’s Social Worker of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards.


Director-at-Large

Sylvester “Jim” Bowie, EdD, MSW


Bernadette Seifert, LICSW

Sylvester “Jim” Bowie, Professor Emeritus, earned his BSW and MSW degrees from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) and a Doctorate in Education from the University of San Francisco. His social work experiences include private and public agencies; emergency response, reunification and adoptions. He worked for the Federal Title IV-E Stipend Program at CSUS, as a liaison and coordinator. He joined the CSUS faculty in 2001 and served in many capacities including vice chair and chair of the Faculty Senate, director of the BSW program, and chair of the Faculty Council in the Division of Social Work. He has served as chair and board member of the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR) on the CSUS campus. Bowie retired from CSUS in 2021. He has served NASW California Chapter as 1st Vice President and President of the board, and on various sub-committees including CalPace. Bowie serves on the National Audit Committee.

Contact

For questions about NASW  governance, please contact us at  governance@socialworkers.org.