(Courtesy of Yeshiva University) On Friday, April 13, the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, in honor of its 60th anniversary, will host a conference entitled, “Social Work in Challenging Times” at Yeshiva University Museum, 15 West 16th Street, New York. The keynote speaker will be David Remnick, acclaimed journalist, author and editor of The New Yorker, whose talk is titled, “Free Press in the Era of Donald Trump.”
Dr. Danielle Wozniak, Dorothy and David Schachne Dean of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, explained why this is the proper time for this conference. “The political landscape in which we as social workers and mental health providers work has changed dramatically over the last 13 months,” she noted, “with substantial changes in policies toward the poor and ill, toward immigrants, toward children, and the elderly. But what hasn’t changed is social work’s dedication and passion for helping our society’s vulnerable populations. This conference will look how we can and must impact the changing mental health landscape to uphold our professional mission and values.”
On March 21, Wurzweiler participated in the Legislative Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD), where hundreds of New York State social work students and professionals will gather at the Capitol in Albany to lobby legislators on behalf of specific legislation. Dr. Lynn Levy, associate clinical professor and one of the leaders of the Wurzweiler contingent, emphasized how LEAD “gives our social work students the opportunity to see beyond the boundaries of their own careers and become more passionate not only about what they do but also about the policies that either hinder or help them carry out their professional and moral obligations.”
The heart of “Social Work in Challenging Times” will be three workshops focusing on the challenges presented to social work in medicine, mental health and immigration, led by Penny Damaskos (director of the department of social work at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital Cancer Center), Faye Wilbur (deputy director of The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services) and Lindsay Nash (visiting assistant clinical professor, Cardozo School of Law). Continuing Education Unit credits will be available.
The conference is dedicated to the memory of Dean Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, the first Latina dean of a New York school of social work, who led Wurzweiler from 2012 until 2016.
