Live-Streamed Sessions

Live-Streamed Sessions

The following sessions are presented in person and live-streamed. You must be a registered in-person and/or live-stream only participant to have access to the following sessions at SSWR 2025. As a registrant, you will receive an email with access prior to the conference.

Current Events Special Session
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 12:30 PM-1:30 PM

Wage Equity for Social Workers and the Nonprofit Human Services Sector

• Janice Deguchi, Neighborhood House, https://nhwa.org/about-us/leadership/
• Jennifer Turner, PhD, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, https://care.iwpr.org/speakers/jennifer-turner/
• Jennie Romich, PhD, University of Washington, https://socialwork.uw.edu/people/jennifer-romich/

Opening Plenary
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 5:00 PM-6:30 PM

• Chair: Mary Ohmer, PhD, MSW, MPIA, University of Pittsburgh
• Keynote Speaker: Desmond Upton Patton, PhD, MSW, Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor of Social Policy and Communications and PIK Professor, Professor of Psychiatry, Penn Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia ( Secondary), Chief Strategy Officer, School of Social Policy and Practice, SAFElab Director, Faculty Director: Penn Center for Inclusive Innovation and Tech ( PCIIT), University of Pennsylvania

SSWR and Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis 2025 Rosen Lecture
Friday, January 17, 2025, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM

• Keynote Speaker: Leopoldo J. Cabassa, PhD, Professor, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, https://brownschool.washu.edu/faculty-and-research/leopoldo-cabassa/

Leopoldo J. Cabassa, PhD, MSW
Washington University in St. Louis

Leopoldo J. Cabassa, MSW, Ph.D. is a Puerto Rican social worker. He is the Co-Director of the Center for Mental Health Services Research at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. His research centers on examining physical and mental health inequities in historically marginalized racial and ethnic populations with serious mental illness (SMI; e.g., schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder). His work blends quantitative and qualitative methods, health disparities research, community engagement, intervention research, and implementation science. His research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, SAMHSA, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Cabassa is a fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research and the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare. His scholarship is making significant contributions in three areas: improving depression literacy and reducing stigma toward mental illness in the Latino community; 2) reducing physical health inequities in racial/ethnic minoritized and historically marginalized communities with SMI; and 3) improving the health and well-being of young adults experiencing first-episode psychosis. See profile

This session is jointly sponsored by the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) and the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis.

Invited Symposium I: On the Ground with Community Partners and Researchers: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Violence Prevention Research
Friday, January 17, 2025, 2:00 PM-3:30 PM

• Chair and Moderator: Mary Ohmer, PhD, MPIA, SSWR vice president and 2025 conference chair
• Moderator: Cheryl Hyde, PhD, Temple University
• Tyrone Morris, MSW, Committed Community Mentors
• Katiana Foizen, MSW, Philadelphia ReCAST
• Jason Beery, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Cecelia Ware, Infinite Lifestyle Solutions

Collaborative approaches to conducting research with communities and community partners is becoming more prevalent in social work research. Yet we still have so much more to learn about how to genuinely, respectfully, and effectively engage in collaborative research in ways that center on the perspectives and knowledge of community members to effect change. This symposium will focus on the experiences of community partners and researchers working in two intervention and research partnerships focused on community-centered trauma-informed violence reduction and prevention interventions funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant called ReCAST (Resiliency in Communities after Stress and Trauma). Symposium participants will discuss barriers and potential solutions related to five key areas in collaborative research partnerships: (1) the complexities of multi-partner collaborative research projects, as well as the processes and structures created to manage these complexities; (2) the struggles with capacity at multiple levels, particularly the need to develop the capacity of grassroots community partners; (3) top-down evidence based approaches versus bottom up-co-creation of knowledge; (4) historical and current trust issues between institutions and communities but also within communities; and (5) ways to measure impact and further data justice: understanding what is working or what we have accomplished in ways that advance data justice. Panelists also will address the challenges and possible solutions to developing research partnerships as reported by social work scholars, including the institutional barriers that impact authentic collaborative community research.

This session is sponsored by Platinum Sponsor University of Georgia, School of Social Work.

Brief and Brilliant Session
Friday, January 17, 2025, 3:45 PM-5:15 PM

• Organizers and Moderators: Shannon Sliva, PhD, University of Denver, Caroline Sharkey, University at Albany

From Silence to Resilience: Amplifying the Voices of Bipoc Teen Mothers through Creative Arts and Autoethnography
Michelle Ridley, LMSW, University of Kansas

“You’Re Going to Kill People By Passing a Law”: Social Work, Anti-Trans Legislation, and Research
Megan (Meg) Paceley, PhD, University of Connecticut

By Your Side: Prison Doulas and Reproductive Justice
Angela DeCandia, DSW, LCSW, Kean University

Reality Check: Transforming Cancer Education for Latina Immigrant Women through Augmented Reality
Venera Bekteshi, PhD, University of Oklahoma

Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Among U.S. College Students: Can We Stop It?
Lianne Urada, PhD, San Diego State University

African American Gospel, Country and Hip-Hop Music: Portals to Psychological and Behavioral Wellness
Kamilah Majied, PhD, California State University Monterey Bay

Invited Symposium II: Funding Collaborative Community Partnered Research: A Discussion with Funders and Researchers 
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 9:45 AM-11:15 AM

• Chair and Speaker: Mary Ohmer, PhD, MPIA, University of Pittsburgh, SSWR vice president and 2025 conference chair
• Moderator: Sara Goodkind, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Speakers: Andrea Robles, AmeriCorps
• Christopher T. Allen, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Joyce Dieterly, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Jason Beery, PhD, Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh
• Liz Miller, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Support for collaborative community research has grown over the last decade. New funding sources have supported social work scholars working with community partners to conduct research to address community identified issues through community-based participatory and community engaged research. This invited symposium is a conversation about the funders’ vision for supporting collaborative research, how their funding streams support their overall mission and goals, and what types of collaborative funding they provide. Researchers will discuss how this funding has furthered their research and engagement with community partners and their impact working collaboratively on community identified issues. The future of collaborative community research will also be discussed, including challenges and potential solutions to developing and sustaining collaborative research partnerships.

This session is sponsored by Gold Sponsor Boston University, School of Social Work.

Annual Social Policy Forum
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM

• Chair: David Pate, Jr., PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, social policy committee chair
• Keynote Speaker: David Sanders, PhD, Executive Vice  President of Systems Improvement, Casey Family Programs

David Sanders, PhD
Casey Family Programs

David Sanders joined Casey Family Programs in July 2006. He oversees the foundation’s work with child welfare systems to improve practice, with an emphasis on ensuring safe and permanent families for children. He also oversees the foundation’s public policy and research work. In addition, President Obama appointed him chair of the federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. Prior to joining Casey Family Programs, he directed all operations for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. See profile

b

This session is sponsored by Platinum Sponsor University of Georgia, School of Social Work.

Student Session and Luncheon: Palestine, Free Speech and DEI Bans: Social Work’s Response to Silencing Tactics, Genocide, and Systemic Injustice 
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 12:30 PM-1:45 PM

• Sireen Irsheid, PhD, The University of Chicago
• Amie Thurber, PhD, Portland State University
• Adam McCormick, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso
• Brianna Suslovic, MSW, The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
• Aneelah Afzali, American Muslim Empowerment Network

Social Work’s inaction in the face of ongoing genocide across the world speaks to a recurring issue: the disparity between our ethical principles and practical actions. Social Work has fallen short in upholding its core values amid genocide and erasure of Palestinians by colonial entities. This silence in the face of genocide is part of a larger tendency within social work to neglect our obligation to stand with the most marginalized and oppressed as demonstrated by the indifference towards genocide in African, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean countries such as Yemen, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia, and Haiti. Silencing tactics by social work schools, agencies, and organizations have limited students, faculty, and staff’s ability to challenge social injustice and work for social change on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed people. The fight for social justice should not be minimized by global distance as MLK Jr. once said, ““Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Genocide is far reaching and silencing tactics have also obscured the state-sanctioned genocide in African and Caribbean nations, necessitating greater attention and action among social work to address these overlooked human rights injustices. These silencing tactics around genocide are occurring within a context of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion bans which collectively hinder our ability to dismantle oppressive structures uphold the core values of Social Work. Students, staff, and faculty have faced violence and academic discipline for exercising their right to free speech and protest through peaceful demonstrations and encampments. The combination of silencing, surveillance, and policing tactics have negatively impacted the overall safety and well-being of all those on campus regardless of their stance and involvement on the issue. Genocide’s relevance has transcended into the field of Social Work with many implications for researchers, practitioners, and the communities they serve. This topic is not only relevant to those who focus on global social work, but for those working in all subsets of the field including legal studies, immigration, mental and physical health, housing justice, military, colonial and decolonial studies, racial and Indigenous studies, and policy at all levels, macro, mezzo, and micro.

This year’s Student Luncheon convenes a diverse group of social work scholars, educators, organizers, and practitioners to discuss and promote a dialogue on: 1) Silencing tactics, and the politics of free speech within the context of Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion bans, 2) Encampment for Palestine and the importance of advocacy and resistance, 3) Utilizing the case of Palestine as well as Haiti, Sudan, and Congo to highlight Social Work’s responsibility in promoting a unified approach to addressing systemic inequalities and advocating for human rights.

About SSWR: The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) was founded in 1994 as a free-standing organization dedicated to the advancement of social work research. The Society for Social Work and Research advances, disseminates, and translates research that addresses social work practice and policy issues and promotes a diverse, just, and equitable society. As part of this mission, SSWR organizes an Annual Conference with over 500 symposia, workshops, roundtables, poster presentations, and a student luncheon.

Fellows and Awards Presentations
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 3:15 PM-3:45 PM

• Co-Chairs: Ramona Denby-Brinson, PhD, MSW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Joan Blakey, PhD, LCSW, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Invited Symposium III: Strengthening Social Work Science and Collaboration Amid Anti-DEI and Anti-Democratic Initiatives
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

• Chair: Mary Ohmer, PhD, MPIA, SSWR vice president and 2025 conference chair
• Moderator: Justin Harty, PhD, Arizona State University
• Mimi Abramovitz, DSW, Hunter College
• Kyaien O. Conner, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
• Lenna Nepomnyaschy, PhD, Rutgers University

The rising tide of anti-DEI and anti-democratic initiatives within society and academia poses a substantial threat to the fabric of social work research, particularly in collaborations with historically marginalized and minoritized communities. These initiatives directly assault antiracist, anticolonial, and democratic principles, undermining the foundation of social work science and research collaborations. Anti-DEI initiatives directly threaten social work science by stifling the diversity of perspectives and experiences that enrich research and enhance its relevance to real-world problems. They also disrupt collaborative bonds between researchers and communities, essential for developing interventions that effectively address systemic inequities. Anti-democratic movements undermine open dialogue and shared decision-making, eroding trust between researchers and community partners, critical for co-creating knowledge that addresses the needs and rights of those most affected by injustice. Such changes not only jeopardize the integrity and efficacy of social work science but also challenge our commitment to fostering a just and equitable society. The symposium will delve into the following areas: 1. Articulating the Threats: Examining how anti-DEI and anti-democratic initiatives undermine the antiracist, anticolonial, and democratic principles essential to social work research. This session will assess the nature and scale of these challenges, explore the motives behind such initiatives, and discuss their impact on marginalized and minoritized communities. 2. Implications of Threats: This discussion will focus on the consequences of these threats for social work researchers and the communities they collaborate with. It will explore both the historical and contemporary effects of these regressive trends on the profession and practice of social work, particularly how they hinder effective collaboration and the co-creation of knowledge. 3. Counter-strategies to Threats: Presenting actionable strategies to counteract the impact of anti-DEI and anti-democratic policies. This will include a range of responses such as advocacy for policy change, innovative research methodologies that reinforce democratic and inclusive principles, and strengthening community partnerships to ensure that social work research remains a powerful tool for justice and equity.

This session is sponsored by Gold Sponsor Boston University, School of Social Work.

Membership Business Meeting
Saturday, January 18, 2025, 5:45 PM-6:15 PM

• Chair: Ramona Denby-Brinson, PhD, MSW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill