BUSSW Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series

Join the discussion on equity, inclusion, social work and social justice

The Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series is a virtual, interactive lecture series hosted by the BUSSW Equity & Inclusion Committee. All E&I Speaker Series events are free and open to the public.

Upcoming Events

From Eugenic Practices to Social Policing: Social Work & Reproductive Oppression

Thursday, December 14, 2023
5:30–6:45 pm ET
Virtual (Zoom)

Register

Although Black, Indigenous, disabled, and other marginalized activists have stated for years that Roe v. Wade was not enough to protect people’s reproductive rights, it wasn’t until the 2022 Dobbs decision that broader attention to reproductive rights and calls for reproductive justice resurfaced in mainstream dialogue. Since then, many social work institutions and practitioners have urged those in the field to consider reproductive justice a crucial component of their social justice mission. However, they often overlook the profession’s historical ties to eugenic practice and the continued policing of people’s bodies.

This event will focus on how social workers have contributed to reproductive oppression and identify opportunities for them to incorporate reproductive justice into their practice and personal lives.

1 CE credit will be available to social workers licensed in Massachusetts. Licensed social workers outside of Massachusetts may also receive credit depending on their jurisdiction; see details on states and provinces accepting ASWB ACE credits here. If you wish to receive CE credits, please provide your license number in the registration form.

Featured Speaker:

Greer Hamilton, PhD (she/her) is a transitional postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Her work focuses on examining how systems of oppression are embedded into the built environment and subsequently impact people’s health, well-being, and use of public spaces. She began her research career as a research assistant for Dr. Gretchen Ely who studied how far people had to travel for an abortion prior to the overturning of Roe. She is a board member for the Midwest Access Coalition and formerly the co-chair of the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund.

Past Events & Recordings

2023–2024

Social Work & Social Theater: From Self-Development to Critical Awareness

Speaker: Linda Ducca

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023

Event Description

As right wing extremists’ ideas and actions become more common and endanger people’s rights, social theater techniques and methodologies can help raise awareness about the inequalities and injustices of the system we live in. This presentation will explore the link between social theater and social work, and how social theater methodology promotes collective well-being and critical awareness. Featured speaker Linda Ducca will give a brief overview of the roots of social theater, examine the historical use of theater as a methodology in social work, and discuss the broader meaning of social theater today in practice, education, and research.

Featured Speaker

Linda Ducca, PhD, is assistant professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). She holds a PhD in Social Work, a master’s degree in Research Methods and Techniques applied to Social Work, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Work (UCM). Prof. Ducca is a founding member of Grupolab and a committee member of the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG). Her research focuses on youth, participation, social theater, social intervention, and social work with groups. In addition to her publications, she has presented to Congress about social theater and social work. She is not an actress, but has been practicing social theater for more than 10 years.

Moderators & Reflectors

Moderator: Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW

Dawn Belkin Martinez is a clinical professor and associate dean of equity and inclusion at the Boston University School of Social Work, where she coordinates the clinical practice with families sequence. Formerly the chief social worker on the inpatient psychiatry service at Children’s Hospital in Boston and an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, she has nearly 30 years of experience as a scholar, clinical social worker, and activist in the movement for our collective liberation.

Student Reflector: Sarah Amkieh

Sarah Amkieh is a Syrian American 2nd year clinical student at BUSSW. They grew up in Louisiana and attended Tulane University for undergrad where they studied political science and gender studies and then lived in San Diego before coming to Boston to pursue their master’s. They are deeply passionate about social justice and radical liberation for all marginalized groups and hope to pursue clinical and macro work in line with these passions. And on a less serious note, they have an adorable orange cat named Taz!

Alumni Reflector: Malaka Mims

Malaka Mims, an alum of the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, is a licensed independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who operates a private practice in Brockton, Mass. She provides therapy, advocacy, workshops, and consultation, all rooted in her unwavering dedication to social work and positive change. She also teaches MSW courses at BUSSW with a focus on ethics, racial justice, clinical practice, and mental health policy. Recently, she has ventured into podcasting, facilitating impactful discussions on vital topics.

Faculty Reflector: Donna McLaughlin

Donna McLaughlin is a clinical associate professor at BUSSW and is known for her expertise in social work practice with groups and individuals, behavioral health and trauma. Her interests include supervising and mentoring students and new workers, and community training in group work, trauma, living with chronic illness, and work with the LGBTQ+ community. She is also a clinician/consultant in private practice.

Understanding & Resisting the War on Trans Youth

Speaker: Jessica Kant

Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023

Event Description

In reaction to the enormous strides made by the trans liberation movement, a counter-campaign has grown exponentially in opposition, using transgender people as a political wedge issue. Having gone from invisibility to hypervisibility, trans people are thrust into the public landscape, their lives and bodies debated nightly on news programs and in legislatures. In the past several years, hundreds of bills have been proposed targeting transgender people, with an emphasis on pediatric gender-affirming care. With each enacted policy, politicians and their donors grow bolder in their efforts to drive transgender people out of public life.

This BUSSW Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series event featuring speaker Jessica Kant will explore how the attack on trans lives is increasingly taking place within the fields of medicine and social work, with social workers in particular being forced to either participate in anti-trans actions or actively resist. Participants will gain insight into the world that trans people are living in, both in the present and through history, and learn ways to identify and decode anti-trans messaging, and challenge anti-trans policies and activities within their institutions.

Featured Speaker

Jessica Kant is a Boston-based clinical social worker and researcher who specializes in working with transgender and nonbinary clients. She has been a practicing psychotherapist for twelve years and is currently part of a multidisciplinary team supporting transgender people through the surgical process, including identifying and accessing their embodiment goals. Outside of clinical practice, she is a part-time lecturer at the BU School of Social Work and an analyst on a mixed-methods study at Boston Children’s Hospital examining the effects of the social and political climate on transgender youth and their families.

Moderators & Reflectors

Moderator: Daniel P. Miller, PhD

Daniel Miller, PhD, is an associate professor of social welfare policy, and Director of the PhD program at the Boston University School of Social Work. His research focuses on the ways in which policies can promote the health and well-being of children and families.

Reflectors:

Student reflector Neha Bhagat (she/her) is a second-year clinical MSW student at Boston University. With a focus on Asian and Asian American communities, Neha’s involvement in suicide prevention and health equity spaces led her to pursue the field of social work to deeper explore the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions in addressing intersectionality. Whichever path comes next, she aims to take it with compassion, empathy, and patience above all.
Alumni reflector Mahlet Meshesha, MSW, LCSW, MPH (she/her) is a trauma-informed, public health social worker with a passion for improving working conditions and workplace culture. She is currently a program evaluator at the Boston Public Health Commission. Mahlet is also a steering committee member of the Boston Liberation Health group.
Faculty reflector Chloe Frankel (she/they), LICSW, is a full-time lecturer at BUSSW and also works with youth, adults, and families as a community-based therapist. Chloe is a member of the Boston Liberation Health Group’s Steering Committee and believes that none of us are free until all of us are free. Queer and trans liberation now!

2022–2023

Disability Justice and Mental Health

Viviendo en la Intersección: Queer Latinx Experiences at the Intersection of Identities

Surviving Neoliberal Social Work: Collective Action vs. Individualism

(Neo)Colonization, Erasure and Illegible Traumas in the Asian American Diaspora

Community Activism & Political Education: Impacts on BIPOC Youth Mental Health

Speakers: Amatullah Mervin & Tara Venkatraman

Date: Thursday, October 27, 2022

Event Description

In this political moment, and throughout this country’s history, Black young people and young people of color are on the forefront of insurgent social movements for justice. However, youth are also experiencing the repercussions of devastating racial and police violence and ongoing governmental neglect—in ways that have indelible impacts on their mental health.

Join Amatullah Mervin (STH’22) and Tara Venkatraman for an important discussion on strategies for activism and organizing rooted in collective care, and ways in which activism, organizing and political education themselves can be mental health care practices. The speakers will also share their research on how the mental health of Black youth and youth of color is impacted by political education and organizing work as they offer best practices for mental health practitioners, social workers, organizers, and youth workers.

Continuing Education Credits: 1 continuing education credit will be available to social workers licensed in Massachusetts upon successful completion of a brief quiz. If you would like to receive continuing education credits, please provide your license number during registration.

This event is co-sponsored by BUSSW’s Clinical Practice and Macro Practice departments.

Featured Speakers

Amatullah Mervin (STH’22) – Executive Director, The City School

Amatullah Mervin (she/hers) is a Boston-Cambridge, Massachusetts native. She is experienced in youth and community organizing, social justice program development and organizational leadership. As a youth and community organizer for 10+ years, her work has placed her at the center of supporting youth by recognizing their power and using that power to fight for liberation in grassroots movements. She has successfully worked on numerous campaigns both in the city of Boston and around the nation including Youthway on the MBTA, ending Stop-and-Frisk in New York City, and the work to dismantle the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Mervin describes herself as a lover of people, travel, good food, culture and difficult conversations around justice, equity and the fight to dismantle oppression for Black youth especially. Her “sheroes” include Fannie Lou Hamer, Assata Shakur and Ella Baker, and she models much of her work after their ideology and methodology. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University.

Tara Venkatraman – Director of Programs and Strategy, The City School

Tara Deviki Venkatraman (she/hers) is the director of programs and strategy at The City School, and a youth worker, organizer, political educator and therapist. She has been rooted in Boston-area racial justice youth organizing for almost fifteen years, and has worked at The City School since 2011, where she supports political education, leadership development, and organizing work with young people and young adults of color. Venkatraman is also on the steering committee for a partnership between The City School and Boston Liberation Health that aims to design a community-based mental health response for the City of Boston that does not involve the police. She has organized with Youth Justice and Power Union in their campaign to defund the police and reinvest in youth jobs and community needs, and she has a therapy practice focused on young adults and adults of color. She is committed to building out mental health, collective care and transformative justice practices within communities of color and organizing spaces.

Moderator & Reflectors

Moderator: Linda Sprague Martinez
Faculty Reflector: Daniel Jacobson López
MSW Student Reflector: Orion Ojala
Alumni Reflector: Emy Takinami (SSW’20)

Abolishing Carceral Social Work: The Child Welfare System

Speaker: Alan J. Dettlaff, PhD

Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022

Event Description

The child welfare system, in its current state, disproportionately harms Black, Indigenous, and Latinx children and families through systemic surveillance, separation, and the adverse outcomes associated with family separation and foster care. Ending this harm will only be achieved when the forcible separation of children from their parents is no longer viewed as an acceptable form of intervention.

In this Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series event, we will discuss the movement to abolish the child welfare system and the broader need for the social work profession to align its practices with its stated values and ethical principles.

Featured Speaker

Alan J. Dettlaff, PhD, is dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston and the inaugural Maconda Brown O’Connor Endowed Dean’s Chair. Prior to entering academia, Dean Dettlaff worked in the child welfare system as a caseworker and an administrator. He received his bachelor’s degree in social work from TCU, and master’s in social work and PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington. Dean Dettlaff’s work focuses on addressing and eliminating the impacts of structural and institutional racism on Black children and other children of color impacted by child welfare system intervention. He is co-founder of the upEND Movement, a collaborative movement that seeks to end the involuntary separation of children from their parents through abolition of foster care and the child welfare system.

Moderator & Reflectors

Moderator: Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, Clinical Professor and Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion, BUSSW
Student Reflector: Noor Toraif, Doctoral Candidate and Lecturer, BUSSW
Faculty Reflector: Linda Sprague Martinez, PhD, Associate Professor, BUSSW
Alumni Reflector: Maya Milic-Strkalj, Family Therapist, Arbour Counseling Services; Boston Liberation Health Group Steering Committee Member; Lecturer, BUSSW

2021–2022

Nearing the Abolitionist Horizon via Professionalized Social Change Work

Speaker: Sophia Sarantakos, PhD

Date: Thursday, April 28, 2022

View the Slide Deck

Event Description

The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the enduring issue of racist state violence has thrust the word “abolition” into the arena of professionalized U.S. social work more so in the past two years than at any other time. Although social change workers with an abolitionist politic are not a new phenomenon, discussions on the need for – and potential and friction of – “abolitionist social work” have increased dramatically since 2020. If professionalized social work is to shift to an abolitionist praxis, this is work that can only be done collectively. To that end, this talk will offer thoughts, not answers, as Dr. Joy James would say. In this presentation, the speaker will ground the audience in the definition and core tenets of prison-industrial complex abolition, query the profession’s stated values through an abolitionist lens, and share their thoughts on clear-eyed political actions that practitioners, researchers, educators, and schools of social work can take if they truly intend to reach for an abolitionist horizon.

Featured Speaker

Sophia Sarantakos, PhD, is a researcher and professor focused on contributing to the advancement of community-based approaches to harm and need, as well as exploring the future of social change work. Sarantakos leads the prison-industrial complex (PIC) abolition workgroup for the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare’s Promote Smart Decarceration Grand Challenge, which organizes and collaborates with other legal systems-focused scholars to increase social work’s understanding of PIC abolition, and its alignment with social work values and ethics. Along with teaching the foundation course “Integrated Social Work Practice for Social Justice,” Sarantakos teaches an “Introduction to PIC Abolition” course for MSW students.

Post-Event Resources

Transform Harm resource hub (great info on transformative justice and PIC abolition): transformharm.org
PIC abolition resource guide compiled by Micah Herskind: micahherskind.com/abolition-resource-guide
Don’t Call The Police (resources by city): dontcallthepolice.com
Mandated Supporting: jmacforfamilies.org/mandated-supporting
Mandatory Reporting is Not Neutral: mandatoryreportingisnotneutral.com
Interrupting Criminalization: interruptingcriminalization.com
Abolitionist Social Change Collective: Email this address to get connected

Disability, Race & Gender: Reproductive Health Solutions

Cultural Betrayal & Conundrums: The Making of a Book

Asian American Organizing: Lessons in Solidarity & Community Building

#CRT: The Critical Race Theory of Social Movement Making

Resisting Neoliberalism: Critical Reflections from Latin American Social Work

Speakers: Melisa Campana Alabarce & Gianinna Muñoz-Arce

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021

Event Description

Social workers in Latin America have a long history of working in partnership with communities in the movement for social justice. Emerging from the shadows of Neoliberalism, individuals, families, and grassroots organizations are joining together to create new social forces and communities of care. This presentation aims to provide an overview of the role of social workers in the struggle for feminism and abortion rights in Argentina and a new national constitution in Chile. What are the factors that influenced these successful movements and what are the opportunities for social workers here in the United States?

This event was part of a joint effort between Boston University School of Social Work, Boston College School of Social Work, and the Grand Challenges for Social Work to celebrate and discuss topics related to Hispanic Heritage Month.

Featured Speakers

Melisa Campana Alabarce currently works as an associated researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and as a principal professor of social work at the National University of Rosario, Argentina. She leads the Research Centre in Governmentality and State and is a member of the Argentine Welfare Research Network (RAIAS). She is also editor-in-chief of the Cátedra Paralela Journal. During the last decade, her research and teaching activity has been focused on social work, social policy, welfare, government of the poor and neoliberalism.

Gianinna Muñoz-Arce, PhD, is a social worker from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Chile. She is the coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Work Research Cluster and the editor-in-chief of the journal Propuestas Críticas en Trabajo Social – Critical Proposals in Social Work. In addition to her publications in Spanish, she has recently published articles in British Journal of Social Work, European Journal of Social Work, and Critical Social Policy. She is a member of the Chilean Social Work Research Network and the Social Work Action Network.

Multiracial Feminist Democracy or Authoritarianism? The Crisis of Neoliberal Democracy and the Rise of Racial and Religious Nationalism

2020–2021

Disability Justice for Our Futures and Our Freedom: On Relational Access, Solidarity Work, and Collective Care

From Settler Colonialism to Self-Determination: An Indigenous Perspective on Decolonizing Social Work

Black Contributions to Social Welfare & Social Work: A Legacy of Black Self-help, Resistance, and Liberation

Speaker: Justin S. Harty

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021

View the Slide Deck

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Despite having a long and rich history of mutual aid towards families, communities, and neighbors, Black people have repeatedly been excluded from the histories of social welfare and social work. This talk will leverage historical texts, social work conference proceedings, and archival documents to highlight historical contributions to social work and social welfare made by Black individuals, leaders, communities, organizations, and movements that are often absent in the dominant literature of our social work profession. Topics of discussion will include historical Black efforts towards self-help, preservation, liberation, activism, and social justice and a social work profession failing to recognize these efforts as “social work” while struggling to confront anti-Black racism, train Black social workers, and meet the needs of the Black community.

ABOUT JUSTIN S. HARTY

Justin S. Harty is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. He earned bachelor’s degrees in both sociology and philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011. He received his master’s of social work, with a concentration in children and families, from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2013. After earning a master’s degree, he worked for three years as a foster care worker in Chicago, Illinois. He is a licensed clinical social worker serving child welfare involved fathers and provides father-focused trainings to child welfare, foster care, and family strengthening agencies around father involvement and engagement. He is currently an adjunct lecturer at University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, University of Illinois Chicago, and University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice teaching courses on human behavior in the social environment, critical social work, and introductory research methods.

Harty’s research interests include the outcomes and preparedness of young fathers aging out of the foster care system, father engagement in child welfare services, and father-related social services in the history of the social work profession. His current research examines ways to better serve fathers in home visiting, child welfare, and foster care settings. He is currently conducting his qualitative dissertation research on the experiences and needs of young Black fathers in foster care as they leave state care and transition to independent adulthood and early fatherhood. He also conducts historical research on Black contributions to mutual aid, social welfare, and social work history and is currently working with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and several U.S. social work programs to better integrate the history of Black social workers into their curriculum.

Harty is the project coordinator and research assistant on the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) leveraging longitudinal youth and worker surveys as well as child welfare and publicly available administrative data to examine the impact of extended foster care among transition-aged foster youth in California. He is also a research assistant on the Dads Matter-HV study using quantitative and qualitative data along with agency-level administrative data to test a father-focused intervention enhancement to home visiting services in Chicago, Illinois. He is the principal investigator of the Daddy Doula study preparing to pilot an intervention targeting low-income and vulnerable fathers through a father-focused enhancement to existing community-based doula services Chicago, Illinois.

White Antiracist Organizing: Dismantling White Supremacy as part of a Multiracial Movement

Social Work and Racial Capitalism: Where Do We Go From Here?

Accessibility

Boston University strives to be accessible, inclusive and diverse in our facilities, programming and academic offerings. Your experience in this event is important to us. If you have a disability (including but not limited to learning or attention, mental health, concussion, vision, mobility, hearing, physical or other health related), require communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing, or believe that you require a reasonable accommodation for another reason please contact the event organizer at swequity@bu.edu three weeks prior to the event to discuss your needs.

Contact Us

To get in touch with the BUSSW Equity & Inclusion Committee, please email swequity@bu.edu.

Equity & Inclusion Speaker Series

Join the discussion on equity, inclusion, social work and social justice

Upcoming Events

From Eugenic Practices to Social Policing: Social Work & Reproductive Oppression

Thursday, December 14, 20235:30–6:45 pm ETVirtual (Zoom)

Featured Speaker:

Past Events & Recordings

2023–2024

Social Work & Social Theater: From Self-Development to Critical Awareness

Speaker: Linda Ducca

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderators & Reflectors

Understanding & Resisting the War on Trans Youth

Speaker: Jessica Kant

Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderators & Reflectors

2022–2023

Disability Justice and Mental Health

Speaker: Isabel Alvardado Dees

Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderators & Reflectors

Viviendo en la Intersección: Queer Latinx Experiences at the Intersection of Identities

Speakers: Javier Garcia-Perez, PhD Candidate, UCLA

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderator & Reflectors

Surviving Neoliberal Social Work: Collective Action vs. Individualism

Speaker: Dimitra-Dora Teloni, Assistant Professor, University of West Attica

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2023

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderator & Reflectors

(Neo)Colonization, Erasure and Illegible Traumas in the Asian American Diaspora

Speakers: Jean Yu-wen Wu, PhD

Date: Thursday, December 15, 2022

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderator & Reflectors

Community Activism & Political Education: Impacts on BIPOC Youth Mental Health

Speakers: Amatullah Mervin & Tara Venkatraman

Date: Thursday, October 27, 2022

Event Description

Featured Speakers

Moderator & Reflectors

Abolishing Carceral Social Work: The Child Welfare System

Speaker: Alan J. Dettlaff, PhD

Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Moderator & Reflectors

2021–2022

Nearing the Abolitionist Horizon via Professionalized Social Change Work

Speaker: Sophia Sarantakos, PhD

Date: Thursday, April 28, 2022

View the Slide Deck

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Post-Event Resources

Disability, Race & Gender: Reproductive Health Solutions

Speaker: Natasha M. Lee-Johnson

Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Cultural Betrayal & Conundrums: The Making of a Book

Speaker: Incoming BUSSW faculty member Jennifer M. Gómez

Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022

Event Description

Featured Speaker

Asian American Organizing: Lessons in Solidarity & Community Building

Speaker: Carolyn Chou, Executive Director of Asian American Resource Workshop

Date: Thursday, December 16, 2021

View the Slide Deck

Event Description

Thursday, December 14, 2023
5:30–6:45 pm ET
Virtual (Zoom)