National Lifetime Achievement Award

Kalpana A. Parekh, LISW-S, LICDC-CS

In 1975, Kalpana Parekh obtained her MSW in India with the focus of her thesis being adult illiteracy in rural areas of India. Her journey began in India, then England, and now the US as a practicing social worker since 1988. She has served in multiple areas including forensic social work, foster care and adoption, severely mentally ill to homebased therapy. She has also served as a clinical director at First Step Home, Family Service, and Victim Service Center,

Her transition into social work was a purposeful shift driven by a deep-seated passion for justice and a desire to help others uncover their resilience. With a BA in English Literature, she knew her true calling was rooted in service, social justice, and leadership. Her lifelong dream of becoming a community organizer, and psychotherapist, and an inherent curiosity about human happiness were sparked by the long shadow of British colonialism in India. The effects were severe economic exploitation, political “divide and rule.” Strategies leading to patron, and profound social/infrastructural changes, further divided India and created a caste system that left India with loss of identity, culture, and language.

Her career is a testament to the power of social work across the full continuum of care.  From the high stakes environment of correctional facilities to the intimate setting of homebased therapy, she has consistently advocated for the dignity of those often overlooked by society. In her work within drug and alcohol programs, the prison system, at First Step Home, and Cross Road Center, she has shifted the focus from punishment to restoration, a philosophy that was carried into foster care and adoption services to ensure every child had a stable, loving foundation. Her legacy is defined not just by the thousands of lives touched, but by the systemic changes in reuniting many families. She has continued her professional education in social work through training in CBT, DBT, EMDR, ACT, and Trauma Informed Therpay and continues to participate in advocacy with NASW as a member of more than 30 years.

During her career, Parekh has supervised many students and co-workers and has created a ‘multiplier effect’ for excellence ensuring that countless families receive care that is rooted in the highest ethical standards of social work practice. She provided emotional and professional scaffolding that kept talented people in the profession. She has inspired and supported many social workers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and many of her former supervisees and mentees have become key decisionmakers and change agents. By investing deeply in the next generation, she has ensured that the core values of the social work profession will continue to thrive in programs, and in the communities they will impact.

Working in a private practice setting, Parekh continues to provide care that transforms the lives of individuals and families challenged by mental health issues, and substance use disorders. Her decades’ long experience has taught her that change is sometimes slow, but is always possible. The work continues beyond the policies that were changed and the cases that were closed.Her greatest pride lies in knowing that she has helped to mentor the next generation of social workers. The award is not just the recognition of 50 years of service, but a celebration of the countless lives and the future practioners who will carry her work forward. As she accepts this Lifetime Achievement award, her message to the community is simple: never underestimate the power of showing up.