A Social Worker in Tech | Niteesa Brooks, MSSW

Niteesa Brooks is a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) — a degree most social workers don't even know exists — and she's built a career most social work programs won't prepare you for: regulated tech. She's run pharma research programs for Eli Lilly, scaled inside a 400-person FinTech company, and she's launching her own execution advisory and consulting firm (announced publicly for the first time on this episode).In this conversation with host Christian "Ace" Stettler and BSW senior Christie Robinson, Niteesa breaks down:• Why she chose MSSW over MSW and what the Social Enterprise Administration track actually opens up (hint: it's not the clinical path your professors keep pushing)• What macro social work really looks like inside product teams, pharma contracts, and startup chaos• The power dynamics of being the only Black woman social worker in the room — including the moment an engineer told her she had "the power like an oppressor," and how she answered him• Bureaucracy and burnout — why "that's just how we are" is the most dangerous sentence in any organization, and what to do when you hear it• How to take back power at work — the exact steps she walks through when someone feels stuck and voiceless• Intentionality in an oversaturated world — saying no, doing personal inventory, and protecting your attention from algorithms designed to hijack itIf you're a social work student wondering whether you have to do therapy, a practitioner drowning in red tape, or a macro-curious social worker eyeing tech, policy, or entrepreneurship — this one's for you.About the Critical Social Worker Podcast:A revolutionary storytelling podcast hosted by Professor Christian "Ace" Stettler at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. We sit with social workers, educators, activists, healers, and troublemakers who are remaking the profession from the inside out.▶ Visit the site: https://revolutionarysocialwork.com▶ Connect with Niteesa Brooks on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niteesabrooks/Host: Christian "Ace" Stettler, MSW — Professor of Social Work, University of Alaska FairbanksCo-host for this episode: Christie Robinson, BSW candidate00:00 Welcome & Intro01:35 Setting the Scene — Hawaii to New Jersey05:47 Niteesa's Journey: From Social Work to Digital Health Tech10:50 Launching Her Consulting Firm (First Public Announcement)16:23 MSW vs. MSSW — The Degree They Don't Tell You About20:04 Execution Strategy, Bureaucracy, and Why Projects Stall29:10 Communication, Red Tape, and the Burnout Cycle32:20 Culture Is Bureaucracy — and It's Killing Your Work34:33 Power Dynamics Inside Startups and Health Tech36:45 "You Have the Power Like an Oppressor": A Black Woman Social Worker Answers Back45:46 Social Work in Tech: How Niteesa Got Into Meta Interviews51:22 Taking Back Power When You Feel Voiceless at Work55:33 Intentionality, Saying No, and Surviving an Oversaturated World#SocialWork #SocialWorkInTech #MSSW #CriticalSocialWork #MacroSocialWork© UAF Social Work