PRIVATE PRACTICE & EDUCATION
Educating the next generation of social workers—ensuring they are skilled, trained and qualified to tackle the needs of our rapidly changing world— is something that Dr. Tawanda Hubbard feels passionately about as well. Dr. Hubbard is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Researcher and Professor at Monmouth University. She is also the current President of NASW-NJ. Her passion for education does not end with students; Dr. Hubbard routinely speaks around the state and nation on issues surrounding child protection and adolescents and has a thriving private practice where she provides family and individual therapy. Dr. Hubbard says there are numerous reasons she loves her career as a social worker. “As a clinician, it is an honor and joy to be a part of the solution for struggling individuals and families, making a difference in their lives as they turn things around for themselves in positive ways,” she explains. “And as an educator, I am humbled to be able to invest in the next generation of social workers and shape social work education.” Dr. Hubbard also says a common misconception is that social workers only work in child welfare or as therapists, when in fact, there are social workers in just about every industry that exists. “The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a wonderful degree that offers flexibility and mobility,” adds Hubbard.
LAW
A primary example of the many paths open to those who possess an MSW is the number of individuals who earn advanced degrees in both social work and law. David Barry, JD, LSW is the most recent past president of NASW-NJ and a Partner with Brown, Barry & Barry, Attorney’s at Law. Barry chose to return to school to obtain his MSW after he was already an established lawyer. “I wanted to gain insight into the human factors that you don’t learn or focus on in law school so I could better understand and represent my clients in court,” Barry says. “As a lawyer, I love the idea that my guidance helps social workers serve their clients in a better, more ethically and legally sound manner.”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE From legal assistance to criminal justice reform, social workers continue to lead across the state. Dr. Darcella Sessomes says she became a social worker to fight systemic injustice. She is currently the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Program & Community Services for the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC). Her career spans over 25 years, with 15 years dedicated to state government. In 2004, she established and built the NJDOC reentry preparation services. During the past three decades, she has worked in various areas of social work policy and practice including, but not limited to domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, addictions, homelessness, juveniles, and incarceration. “When I see former clients in the community and they are doing well and say ‘thank you’ with tears in their eyes, it reminds me to stay humble and not judge. If it wasn’t for God’s grace, I could have easily been in their shoes,” Sessomes shares. Indeed, the practice of social work is often a transformative experience not just for the clients, but for the social workers as well, explains Thompson. Regardless of the type of social work being conducted, practitioners frequently experience a wide-range of responses stretching from the heights of personal growth and enlightenment to the lows of burnout and secondary trauma. NASW-NJ offers a place for social workers from various practice setting to share their experiences, and support, and learn from each other. Over a thousand social workers meet annually at the NASW-NJ Annual Conference in Atlantic City, the largest convening of social workers in the tri-state area, to network, dialogue, recharge their batteries, and learn from one another’s areas of expertise. When these individuals return to their respective fields of practice, they are more informed about other perspectives, trends and firsthand knowledge so they can best support the clients and populations they serve.
ADDICTIONS
“Cross-dialogue and collaboration is critical to solving the most pressing issues of our time,” reminds Thompson. “Never has that been more true than surrounding the issue of opioid addiction, where social workers are leading national charges to create change.” Frank Greenagel, Jr. a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor from New Jersey, specializes in addiction and recovery treatment and is a leader in the national dialogue on addictions. Mr. Greenagel served in the U.S. Army and is a First Lieutenant in the National Guard. He consults for a variety of treatment programs and universities and regularly writes for a number of journals and trade websites. Greenagel has served on the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse (GCADA) since 2011 and was the Chairman of the NJ Heroin & Other Opiates Task Force. He spent much of 2016-17 training police in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on issues surrounding addiction and community policing and trained over a thousand Corrections Officers and Therapists for the New Jersey Department of Corrections in the first half of 2018.
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