2025 Virtual Program

Monday, June 16, 2025
   2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Conference Opening and Welcome

Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Social Workers

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Plenary Session

Social Work Leadership: The Past is Prologue (1 Macro CE)
For 70 years, NASW has been at the forefront of advancing the social work profession and championing justice, equity, and human dignity. As we open the 2025 NASW National Conference, we take a moment to honor the legacy of social work, from the groundbreaking efforts of pioneers like Jane Addams in Chicago to the transformative policies and advocacy that have shaped our field. But history is more than a reflection, it is a foundation. This powerful opening session will explore how the lessons of the past fuel our leadership today and prepare us for the challenges and opportunities ahead. With the future of social work at a crossroad facing workforce shortages, political and social shifts, and the evolving role of technology, how do we harness our collective strength to move forward?

Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Social Workers

Kathryn Wehrmann, PhD, MSW
Chair
Steering Committee for the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
Past President, NASW

Justin Harty, PhD, MSW, LCSW
Assistant Professor
Arizona State University School of Social Work

Gwen Bouie-Haynes
NASW Executive Director, AL and MS

4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

Special Opening Presentation

A Spoken Word Poem
Mayda del Valle

4:45 pm - 6:00 pm

Opening Keynote Presentation

Deborah Archer
President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

(1 Social Work CE)

The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Archer’s family moved to the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut, when she was nine-years-old. They soon realized they weren’t welcome — even waking up to “KKK” spray-painted on their home and car. She was terrified until her parents encouraged her to fight back. She took their advice to heart. Archer’s commitment to civil rights and civil liberties grew from her family’s personal experience confronting racism, classism and anti-immigrant sentiment. The first person of color to lead the ACLU, Archer is a leading civil rights and civil liberties advocate, civil rights lawyer, professor, writer and commentator. Her talks explore the intersection of race, civil liberties and the law — challenging audiences to confront America’s legacy of racism and injustice. She also helps audiences understand how systemic racism impacts all aspects of American life, from our workplaces and campuses to transportation, education, housing, economic opportunity, criminal law and more. Her moving talks bring that passion and purpose to every audience, inspiring us to not only understand the nature of systemic injustice, but to do the work of overcoming it.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025
   9:00 am - 10:30 am
Plenary Session

Artificial Intelligence and Social Work: The Road Ahead (1.5 Social Work CEs)
Artificial intelligence is transforming mental health care, offering tools to streamline workflows, improve accessibility, and deliver data-driven insights. Yet, the rise of AI-powered chatbots and venture capital-funded platforms raises critical concerns about the potential replacement of licensed practitioners and the erosion of personalized care. This session dives into the dual-edged nature of AI, highlighting its benefits while addressing the ethical, professional, and economic risks it poses to the field. Learn how to navigate these challenges and advocate for a future where AI enhances, rather than replaces, the human connection in mental health.

Lauri Goldkind, PhD, MSW
Professor
Graduate School of Social Science
Fordham University
Editor in Chief, Journal of Technology in Human Services

Eric Rice, PhD, MA
Professor
USC Susan Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Founding Co-Director, USC Center for AI in Society

Jamie Sundvall, PhD, PsyD, LCSW
Assistant Provost of Artificial Intelligence
Touro University
Assistant Dean and Director of Distance Education and Online Programs in the Graduate School of Social Work

Juan Rios, DSW, LCSW
Professor
Seton Hall University
Chair of the Department of Social Work and Public Administration

Rachael Dietkus, LCSW
Founder, Social Workers Who Design
Public Interest Technologist & Ethicist

11:00 am - 12:00 pm Keynote Presentation
Organize. Mobilize. Lead: Social Work at the Frontlines of Democracy
In a time of rising authoritarianism, political attacks on care, and deepening crises in immigration, housing, and mental health, social workers are being called to rise—again. Join special guest Illinois State Senator Karina Villa, MSW, and our keynote speaker, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez—both grounded in social work and community advocacy—for a powerful conversation about why this profession must not only serve, but lead. From the frontlines of policy and politics, these leaders will explore how grassroots organizing, storytelling, and collective action are still our most powerful tools. This plenary is a rallying cry to recommit, reimagine, and resist.

Delia Ramirez
Congresswoman - Illinois 3rd Congressional District

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Choose from multiple session topics across the social work spectrum and earn 1.5 CEs.
  • 101: Unseen Leaders: The Truths Behind Social Workers in Political Power – All Roads Lead Back to Macro Practice
    (Macro Social Work CE)
    Dina Kastner, MSS, MLSP; Ja'Bree Harris, MSW

  • 104: Trauma as a Root Driver of Recidivism
    (Social Work CE)
    Bianca Roberts, LCSW; Deborah Goldfarb, LICSW; Ashley Dor, LCSW; Christopher Rivera

  • 106: Empowering Parents and Combating Anxiety: Implementing Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) in School Communities
    (Clinical Social Work CE)
    Stephanie Reynolds, LCSW-C; Jennifer Katzen Vining, LCSW-C; La Tanya Robinson, LCSW-C
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Choose from multiple session topics across the social work spectrum and earn 1.5 CEs.
  • 202: Empowering Social Workers: An Action plan to Career Advancement, Resiliency, and Legacy
    (Social Work CE)
    Jennifer Luna, MSSW, CSWM; Cindy Snell, MEd; Michelle Woods, LMSW

  • 206: The Importance of Social Work-Specific Standards of Care for Suicide Prevention to Save Lives
    (Clinical Social Work CE)
    Michelle Scott, PhD, MSW; Maureen Underwood, LCSW

  • 210A: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Care: Getting Started with Custom AI Tools
    (Social Work CE)
    Samuel Budyszewick, LCSW

    210B: Transforming Social Work Practice with Artificial Intelligence: Smarter, Faster, Better Solutions
    (Social Work CE)
    Renetta Weaver MSW, LICSW, CAIC
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
   8:15 am - 9:45 am
Plenary Session

The Growing Role of Social Media: Implications for Social Work (1.5 Social Work CEs)

Social media continues to evolve and be a significant force in numerous aspects of our lives. For many people, using social media is a daily routine. It has proven to influence decision-making and related outcomes. It opens up channels for more personal communications. This session will discuss the impact social media is having on social work and how we can harness it as a useful and productive tool.

Jonathan Singer, PhD, LCSW
Professor of Social Work
Loyola University Chicago

Manicka Thomas, LISW-S
Clinical Social Worker, Social Work Mentor

LaShanna Alfred MSW, LISW-S
CEO of U Change Behavioral Health

Christian Ace Stettler, MSW PhD Candidate
Professor of Social Work - University of Alaska Fairbanks

9:45 am - 10:45 am
Keynote Presentation

The Therapist’s Use of Self: Being the Catalyst for Change with Therapy Veteran Clients (1 Clinical CE)

Working with therapy veteran clients can be a therapist’s worst nightmare. Often, the clients present with severe DSM-V diagnoses, extensive treatment histories, are crisis-prone, present with risky and provocative behaviors, may have trauma backgrounds, and come from families with multiple symptom-bearers. In this hands-on practice-oriented presentation, participants will learn several effective therapeutic tools and strategies for fostering strong therapeutic alliances and therapeutic breakthroughs when feeling stuck with therapy-veteran clients. Some of the therapeutic tools and strategies presented are: listening and looking for client anomalies to seize; the use of respectful curiosity; extraordinary presence; the use of humor; absurdity; and playfulness; the use of metaphorical questions; the imaginary Time Machine; and strategic use of confusion and incompetence. Finally, will cover ways to expand one’s therapeutic range and style by bringing in ideas from art, film, theater, literature, history, philosophy, nature, and science and technology.

Matthew Selekman, MSW, LCSW
Founder/Director
Partners for Collaborative Solutions

11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Choose from multiple session topics across the social work spectrum and earn 1.5 CEs.
  • 301: Is It Legal? Is It Ethical? Contemporary Dilemmas in Social Work Practice
    (Ethics CE)
    Andrea Murray, MSW, LICSW; Ashlee Fox, JD, MSW

  • 306: Harm Reduction: From Theory to Social Work Practice
    (Substance Use Disorders CE)
    Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, LCSW; Tanya R. Sorrell, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAANP; Melissa Hernandez

  • 307: CEO Speaker Series: The Power of Coalition Organizing: How Membership Organizations Mobilize for Change
    (Social Work CE)
    Moderator: Dr. Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C
    Speakers: Amanda Hollowell; John Gruber; Malcolm Kenyatta, MS; Stacy Davis Gates
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Plenary Session

Putting It All Together: Where Are We Headed? (1.5 Social Work CEs)
A futures lens and "foresight" practice are a globally recognized transdisciplinary set of ideas, tools and practices intended to help people use the idea of the future to make better decisions in the present. This session will introduce a critical and participatory foresight perspective to assist social workers in making sense of the rapid changes around them, use imagination and foresight tools to better anticipate new challenges and opportunities - all in concert with upholding the values and ethics of the profession. What does the future most "need from social work?" How can social workers care for themselves, each other, and the communities we ally with to best meet the challenges ahead? How will technology, climate, political fracturing, health advances and disparities - all charged by racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia and more - all evolve in the direction of human rights and liberation - or away from it? Let's wrestle with the idea of "future shock" for social work - and encourage our own positive evolution - individually and collectively to meet the call.

Duane Breijak, LMSW-Macro
Executive Director, NASW-Michigan

Lindsey LaPointe, MSW, LSW
Illinois State Representative 19th District

Susan Doig LCSW, LPHA, CADC
President and CEO
Trilogy Inc.

Lisa Lynelle Moore, PhD, LICSW
Senior Lecturer and Director of the Master's Program in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Service Administration
University of Chicago

Hana Kisswani
NASW Board Director, BSW Student

3:45 pm - 5:15 pm
▶Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Choose from multiple session topics across the social work spectrum and earn 1.5 CEs.
  • 402: Climate Change and Health Equity: Resources for Local Action and Community Engagement
    (Social Work CE)
    Amanda Li, MPH, APHA; Sheetal Khedkar Rao, MD

  • 403: Social Care for the Invisible Workforce: Caregiver Interventions for Lasting Change
    (Social Work CE)
    Danika Mills, MSW, LCSW, MPS; Amanda Santiago, LMSW

  • 406: Navigating Advocacy and Addiction Treatment: The Critical Role of Social Work
    (Substance Use Disorders CE)
    Abby Blackwell, LISW-CP; Emma Pyle, LMSW; Evelyn Ballew, LMSW