2022 Virtual Social Work Advocacy Day

Each year NASWGA promotes and hosts Social Work Advocacy Day to honor the core value of Social Justice.

The schedule for Social Work Advocacy Day is as follows:

9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.: Welcome: NASWGA Staff

9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.: Wendi. L. Clifton, Esq., NASW-GA Chapter Legal Advocate

2022 Legislative Session Update and Budget, Bills of Interest to the Social Work Profession

9:50 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Terry Mizrahi, MSW, Ph.D.

Terry Mizrahi was a faculty member at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College of the City

University of New York for 39 years (1980-2019). She chaired the Community Organization, Planning and

Development practice method for several years and created with colleagues a multi-disciplinary

undergraduate Community Organizing Minor in Hunter College. She taught community organizing, social

policy and health policy. For ten years in the 1990s, she chaired Hunter College’s Institutional Review

Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. In 1982 she and others created the Education Center for

Community Organizing (ECCO) through 2006 to provide support and resources to people working for

progressive social change.

As of 2020, she co-chairs the Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work

(www.acosa.org/specialcommission) and in 2017 she founded and still co-chairs the National Social Work

Voter Mobilization Campaign (www.votingissocialwork.org). She served as the elected national President

of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) from 2000-2003 and is a founder of ACOSA’s

Journal of Community Practice in 1994. She represented NASW as the first social worker to be selected as

a Health Care Policy Fellow in the Dept. of HHS. For many years represented her fellow social workers on

the Metro NY Health Care for All Campaign, working for universal health access and coverage.

10:35 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.: Dina Kastner, MSS, MLSP, NASW Senior Field Organizer

Dina Kastner mobilizes professional social workers for legislative and electoral priorities. Staff the Political

Action Committee (PACE). Lobby on social work issues. She has been working as an organizer at the state and national levels since 2000.

11: 15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Judy Jones, NASWGA Political Action Committee (PACE) Chair

Judy Jones’s background is in the area of political organizing and action. She held the NASW-GA PACE

Field Organizer position, where her primary responsibility was to mobilize members to participate in

campaigns and vote in the 2020 general election. She previously has been a community activist and

political organizer since 2007. She served as National Director for Black Women for Obama; a grassroots

organization comprised of volunteers across the country to re-elect President Obama in 2012. Judy served

as a Senior Fellow on Hillary Clinton's 2016 bid for President. Most recently, Judy is the Voter Protection

Coordinator for Gwinnett County, Georgia, and served as the Regional Organizing Coordinator for Swing

Left's national grassroots organization until May 2020.

1:20 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Representative Donna McLeod

First Jamaican – American woman to be elected to Georgia House of Representatives. She served as the

Committee Chair for Voter Outreach and Outreach for the Gwinnett County Democratic Party and

continues to be an active member of the Gwinnett Democrats. Ms. McLeod was a grassroots organizer for Senator Obama’s 2008 campaign. In 2012, she was National Director for Voter Outreach for Black Women for Obama.

Ms. McLeod ran for State House Representative, District 105 in 2018. On November 6, 2018, she was

elected State Representative for District 105, winning with over 4000 votes. In 2018, she also earned the

endorsements of both President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. During the 2019 Legislative Session, Representative McLeod worked with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Community Services to update their release documents to ensure that Ex-Felons that have served their time will be informed that their Voting Rights are restored. Ms. McLeod is a co-founder of C.A.N.I, Inc., (Community Action Network Initiatives) a non-profit 501c3 organization that helps educate and inform people of their civic and societal rights and responsibilities.

2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Closing Rally

2:30 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. - Close Out