Social Work Amplified

Episode 14 highlights the multifaceted career of Renika Atkins, a Master of Social Work, Epic Principal Trainer, Nonprofit Director and Consultant, and a foster care advocate. Renika received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Texas Woman’s University and her Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on Community and Administrative Practice from The University of Texas at Arlington. For her daily 9-5 job, Renika works in healthcare IT as an Epic Principal Trainer. As an Epic Principal Trainer, Renika facilitates training and training materials for end users proficiency in EPIC EMR system, evaluates current training methods for improvement and maximum user retention, provides on site and ATE support to staff and employees of the hospital system, and acts as liaison for operational staff and training staff. Renika doesn’t stop there though. She also started her own nonprofit RISE (Resources Inspiring Success and Empowering) and works there as the Executive Director. RISE is one of the only transition focused nonprofit organization in the North Texas area, centered around the success of vulnerable populations such as foster youth and alumni. RISE was developed to combat the negative outcomes of aging out of the foster/adoptive care system. Lastly, Renika works as a nonprofit consultant and uses her knowledge and skills in nonprofit management to champion the cause to increase funding for black led nonprofits and nonprofits who explicitly serve the black community. She is truly a social work trailblazer!

Join us for episode 14 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear about Renika’s multifaceted career in macro social work. She also shares insights for those that want to jump into a career in nonprofit management and shares expertise around advocacy for those that want to take their next step in political advocacy. She will not disappoint!

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 13 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Amanda L. Sargent, MSW and Future Readiness Macro Social Work Practitioner. Amanda has a diverse career in macro social work that really highlights all that macro social workers are capable of!

Amanda earned a Bachelor of Arts in African-American-Black Studies and Education from The University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Arlington, concentrating in Community and Administrative Practice. She has worked in the fields of racial equity and inclusion, college access and program development for more than a decade in positions such as school board trustee, college admissions advisor, diversity outreach coordinator and program director. Amanda enjoys her career in macro social work because she is able to empathetically listen to the stories of those impacted by social injustice, connect people to resources and opportunities, strategize to create innovative and creative solutions to systemic issues, and celebrate social change (big and small) along the way.

In episode 13 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast, Amanda offers us insight into what drew her into a career in macro social work. She discusses how she uses her personal strengths to advocate for America’s youth and how she engages uses her social work skills to engage in politics in order to achieve socially just outcomes. Amanda is an engaging speaker who offers an authentic perspective on what it means to be a macro social worker and social justice advocate. You won’t want to miss this episode!

Join us for episode 12 of the Social Work Amplified podcast where we will hear from Sarah Crockett, MSW and Director of Public Policy at Texas CASA, one of the largest volunteer organizations in Texas seeking to advocate in court for children in the foster care system.

After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Northwest Nazarene University and her graduate degree in Social Work, concentrating in Social Policy and Program Evaluation, from the University of Michigan, Sarah began her career in social policy research and advocacy. She has a wealth of experience in this area that finally led to her position as the Director of Public Policy at Texas CASA. Sarah explains how much she enjoys her job in CPS policy advocacy because it’s a systems level career where she’s able to bring kids’ voices to the table to help lead policy change in the area of foster care.

In episode 12 of the Social Work Amplified podcast, Sarah dives into the need for social workers to understand the marriage of micro and macro social work. She describes how all social workers need to hone both their micro and macro skills to be able to effectively create social change. Join us for this powerful episode of the Social Work Amplified podcast! You won’t regret it!

Join us for episode 11 of the Social Work Amplified podcast, where we will hear from Mary Beth Kopsovich, LMSW & Program Director at The Family Place, a Dallas-based organization seeking to empower victims of family violence, while working to end it through community engagement and advocacy.

Mary Beth is a Licensed Master Social Worker and the Program Director at The Family Place. After graduating with her undergraduate degree in women’s studies, she started working at a women’s shelter in 2004, and from there, she began to work her way up in the organization. It wasn’t until after realizing she was already doing the work of a social worker that she decided to go back to school to get her graduate degree in social work, to better her understandings and to refine her skills. Mary Beth has spent the last 17 years serving patients in mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities, providing street outreach to people living with HIV, and helping victims of domestic violence on their path from victimhood to survivorship. Her work in leadership roles in nonprofit organizations has allowed her to utilize her experience and talents to address domestic violence from a community and individual level.

In her spare time, Mary Beth has served as an expert witness on the issue of domestic violence for the Tarrant County Felony Intimate Partner Violence Unit for the Criminal District Attorney’s Office. She has also served on an executive committee for the Tarrant County Council on Family Violence. She is a past Woman of the Year awardee from the National Association of Professional Women and was also recognized by the Texas Governor’s Office as a Yellow Rose of Texas Award winner in 2013. Mary Beth has also served on various panels in Tarrant County, including panels in the faith-based community, Texas A&M Law School, Texas Christian University, and UT Southwestern. Mary Beth is also an adjunct Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, who has taught a master’s level social work class titled “Intimate Partner Violence.”

Episode 11 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast highlights the ways that social workers can use macro practice and advocacy, to address the issue of family violence. Listen now to hear an interesting story about how Mary Beth used her macro social work skills to garner the support of an unexpected ally that would go on to lobby for legislation that would help to stop instances of family violence.

Leon Theodore joins us for episode 10 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast. Leon is the Dallas County Project Director at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization out of Austin, Texas, seeking to "advances solutions and builds coalitions to end mass incarceration and foster safer Texas communities". You can read more about their mission and vision at texascje.org/about-tcje.

According to Texas Center for Justice and Equity, Leon "has been active in the reentry field since 2006, and he has done extensive volunteer work in Orlando, Florida, where he established his own nonprofit organization after recognizing a lack of local support services. Leon's passion for reentry, as well as social and employment development, stems from his own experience with the justice system and the stigma attached to people returning from incarceration. He is a proponent of youth diversion programs, especially as it relates to youth of color and the education system, and he launched the P.E.P. (Perception Equals Potential) Initiative in early 2020, seeking to improve outcomes for Dallas-area students, families, and communities. Leon earned a Master of Social Work from Texas A&M-Commerce in 2019, and, in the future, he plans to pursue a Doctorate of Social Work, focusing specifically on students of color and the intersection of self-esteem and perceived potential". You can find Leon's biography at texascje.org/about-tcje

Macro social work careers come in many shapes and sizes. Listen to episode 10 to learn about a day in the life of a social work Project Director and social architect! Hear Leon talk about how he seeks to inspire young people to change their world by changing their perspective.

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 9 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Renae Perry, LMSW and Chief Operating Officer from The Senior Source.

Renae wasn't originally planning to become a social worker. It was only after taking an Intro to Social Work elective in college that she decided to shift gears and pursue a degree in social work. Renae graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work from Howard Payne University and received her master's degree in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington. After graduating, she started her social work career as an intern at The Senior Source and then worked all the way up to become the organization's Chief Operating Officer! What an accomplishment! Renae's mission, as a social work executive and aging advocate, is to help facilitate the best quality of life for older adults, caregivers, and families through nonprofit leadership and program development. She loves macro social work because it allows her to be involved in making an impact for a broader group of people.

Listen to episode 9 now to hear about why Renae feels being politically engaged is such an important aspect of her personal and professional life. You will hear about how she used her political social work/macro social work skills to work with the DA's office to seek justice for those in her community who were being targeted for fraud schemes and scams.

Join us for episode 8 of the Social Work Amplified podcast where we will hear from Kristina Whiton-O’Brien, MSW, from Vot-ER! Like many other macro social workers, Kristina started her career in micro social work, but after being exposed to different aspects of macro social work, she found it to be exhilarating and really started to learn the importance of social policy and the macro environment. She now works with Vot-ER to move forward the idea that all health professionals, social workers included, have a role and responsibility in our community’s health and promoting health equity, specifically through voter registration.

Kristina Whiton-O’Brien, MSW, is the Partnerships Director at Vot-ER. She received her BSW from Providence College and her MSW from Boston University. During the first part of her career, she specialized in adoption preparation, placement and support in both the public and nonprofit sectors. She then engaged in training, outreach, and legislative advocacy as a Director for the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Most recently, Kristina worked at the Boston University School of Social Work as the Assistant Director of Online Advising and Field Education where she developed partnerships across the country for MSW field placements and grew the program from 30 students to over 600. She has taught many professional education programs as well as policy and ethics graduate courses. In addition to her social work career, she was named an Unsung Heroine by the Massachusetts Legislature and was then appointed to the Plymouth County Commission on the Status of Women as an inaugural member in July of 2018. She has been a Vice Chair and Secretary on this Commission which promotes programs and policies to advance women and girls in the community.

Episode 8 of the Social Work Amplified podcast highlights just how much social workers have to offer in macro settings and discusses the importance of voter registration to the social work profession, to social workers in general, and to the clients that social workers serve.

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 7 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Briana Gordley, MSSW, who works as a policy analyst in the Fair Financial Services Department of Texas Appleseed.

Briana Gordley supports Texas Appleseed’s Fair Financial Services Project as a policy analyst, working to advocate for consumer protection, regulation, and reform in the areas of payday and auto title lending and abusive financial practices for vulnerable communities. Briana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Science in Social Work with a concentration in Administration and Policy Practice from The University of Texas at Austin. She has a background in survivor advocacy and housing insecurity, having avidly worked to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking through rapid rehousing and case management services.

Briana started off thinking that she would end up as a psychologist or counselor but after taking a few classes in psychology during her undergrad, she quickly realized that this wasn’t the right space for her. After taking a career quiz that told her to focus on social work, Briana signed up for a Social Work 101 class and “it just made sense”, she said. Now, as a macro social worker, Briana’s days are filled with collaborative meetings with organizational partners, research and staying in the know, analyzing and advocating for better social policies, educating consumers, and working to empower the community to make choices that help protect them from getting themselves into the cycle of debt.

Episode 7 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast will open your eyes to another unique way that social workers are using their advocacy skills to better their communities. Listen now to find out how Briana started her career in macro social work, what a day looks like for her as a policy analyst, and how she sees her micro social work skills benefitting her now as a macro social worker.

Kerrie is a Licensed Master Social Worker and is the CPS Research and Policy Analyst for TexProtects. During the interview, Kerrie describes her background in social work practice, expressing her passion for advocating for Texas’ most vulnerable youth. She worked directly with children in the foster care system for 8 years; researched restorative justice practices to divert youth from the juvenile justice system; served as a policy analyst in the Texas Senate. She is now advocating for policies that will positively impact children and families in the CPS system.

TexProtects is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group that advocates for children in the CPS system, working all along the prevention spectrum. Kerrie does a deep dive into a day in the life of a social worker in advocacy, discussing what it looks like to work as a Research and Policy Analyst. Come find out how her history in micro social work practice helps her to be a better macro social worker.

With a background in government and politics, Greg Hansch, had no intentions of becoming a social worker. But as he was considering getting an advanced degree, it was his long standing curiosity about empowering people to realize their goals that propelled him toward the profession of macro social work. Greg Hansch joins us for episode 5 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to discuss his educational background in politics, his passion for public policy and advocacy, and how his advanced degree in macro social work prepared him for the leadership role that he has today.

Greg Hansch serves as the Executive Director of NAMI Texas. According to NAMI Texas’ website, he joined NAMI Texas in 2012 and he has served in the roles of Public Policy Director and Policy Coordinator. In his current role, he is responsible for providing direction and leadership toward the achievement of NAMI Texas’ mission. He is a Licensed Masters-Level Social Worker and received a Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in Nonprofit and Public Management from Rutgers University. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. Greg is a NAMI SMARTS for Advocacy State Trainer. He is an alumni of the Policy Academy of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at UT Austin. He is an experienced nonprofit executive with a demonstrated history of working in mental health policies, programs, and organizations. He is also skilled in Nonprofits, Public Policy, Government, Grants, Fundraising and Donor Management, Conference Planning, and Volunteer Management. In his spare time, he enjoys helping people register to vote, being active outdoors, and cheering on the Dallas Cowboys. To learn more about NAMI Texas, visit their website at https://namitexas.org/