Doin’ The Work: Frontline Stories of Social Change

Episode 66 Guest: Amanda Wallace, BSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Amanda Wallace, Founder and Executive Director of Operation Stop CPS, discusses the surveillance and regulation of families—particularly Black families—within the child protection system. Having worked in child protective services for a decade, Amanda realized the harm being inflicted on children and families, leading her to advocate for change and ultimately lose her job in retaliation. She discusses how Operation Stop CPS intervenes to assist families affected by the system, the connection between family policing and anti-Black racism, and the movement to end family policing through education, advocacy, and support. In this episode: How the family policing system surveils and regulates families, especially Black families Amanda's decade in child protective services and why she left How Operation Stop CPS intervenes for families facing family separation The historical and present-day roots of anti-Black racism in the child protection system Building a movement to end family policing www.operationstopcps.com Invest in the work www.operationstopcps.com/donate Instagram operationstopcps Facebook OperationStopCPS Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 65 Guest: Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Dawn Belkin Martinez, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion at Boston University School of Social Work, discusses the Liberation Health Model, which she co-created as a transformative, sociopolitical approach to assessment and intervention. Rooted in radical traditions including Black feminism, Brazilian mental health movements, and Marxist theory, the model originated in a hospital psych unit through collaboration with patients and families. Dr. Martinez explains how to use the Liberation Health Triangle for assessment and shares tools like deconstructing dominant messages and recovering historical memory. This powerful model offers a flexible, collective liberation framework that encourages authentic, action-oriented practice. In this episode: The origin story of the Liberation Health Model Using the Liberation Health Triangle for sociopolitical assessment Deconstructing dominant worldview messages with clients Activism as a therapeutic intervention How the model works alongside other approaches like ACT and CBT www.bostonliberationhealth.org Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 64 Guests: Ashleigh Washington, JD & Ruth Cusick, JD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Ashleigh Washington and Ruth Cusick, co-founders of The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL), discuss their work as movement lawyers fighting to end the school-to-prison pipeline. They explain how legal strategies must be rooted in community organizing to create lasting change, especially for Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled, and other marginalized students and families. Drawing on their shift from direct legal services to movement lawyering, they highlight the need for shared power and collective governance beyond traditional civil rights frameworks. The episode also explores their Barefoot Lawyering model and efforts like LA Police Free Schools. In this episode: How legal strategies must be rooted in community organizing to create lasting change The shift from direct legal services to movement lawyering Education as a human right versus a civil rights framework The Barefoot Lawyering interdisciplinary practice model LA Police Free Schools and the fight to end school policing www.c4ll-ca.org Instagram liberatorylawyersca LinkedIn The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering Police Free LAUSD Coalition Report https://www.safeschoolslausd.com/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 63 Guest: Yoosun Park, MSW, PhD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Yoosun Park, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses her co-authored article on social work's role in the Americanization movement from 1880 to 1930—a national project rooted in whiteness and white supremacy. She explains how the profession helped define who was deemed American and how this process excluded Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Mexican communities. The conversation reveals how these racist ideologies shaped early social work and continue to influence the field today. Dr. Park's groundbreaking research is being expanded into a book that critically examines this legacy. In this episode: Social work's central role in the Americanization movement from 1880 to 1930 How whiteness defined who was considered Americanizable—and who was not The exclusion of Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Mexican communities from American citizenship How these white supremacist beliefs, policies, and practices persist in social work today Dr. Park's forthcoming book expanding on this research UPenn Faculty Profile Google Scholar Profile ResearchGate To "Elevate, Humanize, Christianize, Americanize": Social Work, White Supremacy, and the Americanization Movement, 1880–1930 Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 62 Guests: Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray & Parham Daghighi Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray, and Parham Daghighi—MSW students at the University of Texas–Austin and members of FED UP—share their work organizing for paid social work internships. As part of a growing movement, they discuss how they formed FED UP, their strategies, and the resistance they've encountered from within the profession. The conversation highlights how unpaid internships harm students' well-being and reinforce systemic inequities in social work. Their organizing offers a powerful model for collective action and a challenge to the profession's status quo. In this episode: How FED UP formed and their organizing strategies Resistance from within the profession and how they've responded Guiding principles and organizational structure as a model for others How unpaid internships harm student well-being and reinforce inequity Connections between unpaid internships and the devaluation of social work Part 1 Paid Social Work Internships Part 1: Payment 4 Placements – Matt Dargay, MSW & Arie Davey, LLMSW FED UP Instagram utfedup FED UP Email [email protected] Payment 4 Placements Instagram p4pnational Payment 4 Placements Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 61 Guests: Matt Dargay, MSW & Arie Davey, LLMSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Matt Dargay and Arie Davey, co-founders of Payment 4 Placements, discuss their national campaign to secure paid internships for social work students. As former MSW students at the University of Michigan, they highlight the financial burdens of unpaid placements—including the cost of internship credits—and the inequities this system creates, especially for Black students. They share successful organizing efforts at the university and state levels, including legislation to fund paid internships in Michigan schools. This episode offers strategies and inspiration for challenging the status quo and building a more equitable path into the profession. In this episode: The financial burden of unpaid internships, including paying for internship credits How the unpaid internship system creates inequities in who gets to become a social worker CSWE research on the disproportionate cost of a social work degree for Black students Organizing strategies at the university and state levels, including graduate union work Legislation passed in Michigan to fund paid internships in school mental health settings Part 2 Paid Social Work Internships Part 2: FED UP – Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray & Parham Daghighi Instagram p4pumich Facebook Payment for Placements at the University of Michigan Email [email protected]   [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 60 Guests: Kohenet Shoshana A Brown, LMSW & Autumn Leonard Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Shoshana Brown and Autumn Leonard of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective and Jews for Economic & Racial Justice explore how antisemitism and racism operate as interconnected pillars of white supremacy. They discuss their organizing work to support Black Jews and disrupt systems of oppression through community building and education. The conversation highlights the need to deepen our understanding of antisemitism, even within progressive spaces, and to name it as part of our collective justice work. This episode calls us to confront difficult truths and build solidarity across movements. In this episode: How antisemitism and racism function as features of white supremacy The work of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective to create communal space for Black Jews Organizing to disrupt antisemitism and racism through community building Why progressive spaces must name and address antisemitism Building solidarity across movements to create lasting change Black Jewish Liberation Collective www.blackjewishliberation.org Instagram blackjewishliberation X @bjlcollective Facebook BlackJewishLiberation Kohenet Shoshana www.shoshanaakua.com Instagram illuminatorofx X @ShoB Autumn www.bodygetfree.com Instagram autumng0tstamina Facebook autumn.leonard.31 Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 59 Guest: Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Turquoise Skye Devereaux, a Salish and Blackfeet educator, consultant, and PhD student, discusses how colonial systems continue to harm Indigenous Peoples through education and social work. She breaks down the four stages of colonization, critiques the concept of cultural competency, and highlights the importance of creating culturally safe spaces. Drawing from her personal experience and interviews with Indigenous students, Turquoise offers concrete examples of what inclusion can—and should—look like. This episode calls on educators and practitioners to challenge colonial norms and commit to equity and Indigenous liberation. In this episode: Colonial systems and the four stages of colonization Why cultural competency is a myth rooted in a Westernized, colonial mentality Differences between Indigenous and Westernized worldviews and ways of living How education and social work have caused — and continue to cause — harm to Indigenous Peoples Concrete ways to create culturally safe spaces for Indigenous populations Instagram indigenous.cc & cahokiaphx LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/turquoisedevereaux Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 58 Guests: Jewel Patterson, MS; Edgar Ibarria; Nicole Bates, JD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Jewel Patterson, Edgar Ibarria, and Nicole Bates discuss their organizing work to end the school-to-prison pipeline in California. Representing COPE, CADRE, and C4LL, they explain how criminalization in schools—through vague policies like "willful defiance," surveillance, and policing—disproportionately harms Black and Brown students. The conversation highlights their legal and grassroots strategies, coalition building, and a major victory: defunding $25 million from school police to reinvest in Black student achievement. This episode offers a powerful blueprint for reimagining school safety and building collective power. In this episode: How criminalization functions in schools and its disproportionate impact on Black and Brown students The "willful defiance" discipline category and the fight to change it Surveillance, metal detectors, and school policing — and organizing to reimagine safety The victory of defunding $25 million from school police to reinvest in Black student achievement How to build power through coalitions, movement lawyering, and community organizing Jewel Patterson, COPE Instagram JustJewel__ www.COPEsite.org Instagram COPE2000_ Facebook COPE Inland Empire Edgar Ibarria, CADRE www.cadre-la.org Instagram cadreparents X @CADREparents Facebook Community Asset Development Re-defining Education (CADRE) Nicole Bates, C4LL www.c4ll-ca.org Instagram liberatorylawyersca LinkedIn The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 57 Guest: Deadric Williams, PhD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Deadric Williams, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, breaks down the relationship between racism, race, and racialization—emphasizing that racism came first, not race. He explains how racism is upheld by both ideology and structures, and how the invention of race served to justify settler colonialism and slavery. The conversation explores how whiteness functions to divide oppressed groups and maintain dominance, including the use of coded language to sustain racial inequities. Dr. Williams offers a vital framework for understanding and dismantling systemic racism at its roots. In this episode: How racism came first — and how race emerged from it, not the other way around Racism as a combination of ideology and structures that uphold white dominance How the invention of race justified settler colonialism and the enslavement of Africans How whiteness was created to divide oppressed groups and provide material and psychological benefits Coded language and how racial inequities are sustained in contemporary society X @doc_thoughts www.deadricwilliams.wordpress.com Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 56 Guests: Charla Yearwood, LCSW; Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP; Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Charla Yearwood, Cassandra Walker, and Dr. Alan Dettlaff discuss the ASWB's long-awaited release of social work licensing exam pass rates by race and age. The data reveals significant racial disparities, confirming what many have long known—that the exam is racially biased and discriminatory toward Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers. The conversation unpacks how ASWB has avoided accountability and why this exam must be challenged. This episode is part of the growing movement to end the use of this racist exam and calls listeners to take action. In this episode: The ASWB report on licensing exam pass rates by race and what the data reveals How the exam discriminates against Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers How ASWB has avoided accountability and deflected blame The case for ending the use of this exam entirely How to get involved in the #StopASWB movement Charla Yearwood, LCSW www.charlayearwood.com LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/charlayearwood Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP www.i-cch.com Bluesky @intersectionscch.bsky.social Instagram intersectionsllc Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/alandettlaff #StopASWB Petition https://www.change.org/p/aswb-end-discriminatory-social-work-licensing-exams #StopASWB Press Conference Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_p6b6x06U Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 55 Guest: Maxine Davis, MSW, MBA, PhD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Maxine Davis, Assistant Professor at Rutgers School of Social Work, shares her powerful and deeply personal experience navigating anti-Black racism, sexism, and institutional betrayal in academia. She speaks candidly about the toll this took on her mental health, including a suicide attempt, and the lack of accountability within her former institution. Dr. Davis calls attention to the broader issues within social work and higher education and introduces her plan to develop a Green Book and Red Book to guide Black faculty and scholars navigating the job market. This episode is a courageous call for systemic change and collective care. In this episode: Dr. Davis's personal experience of anti-Black racism and sexism in academic institutions The mental health toll of institutional racism, including her suicide attempt The lack of accountability mechanisms for racial harm in higher education How these issues reflect systemic problems in social work and academia as a whole Her plan to create a Green Book and Red Book for Black faculty navigating the job market https://drmaxinedavis.com/ X @DrMaxineDavis The Chronicle of Higher Education: Why They Left Nature: Anti-Black Practices Take Heavy Toll on Mental Health Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 54 Guest: Daye Pope Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Daye Pope, Director of Civic Engagement at T.A.K.E. (Trans Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering), discusses the organization's work supporting trans women of color and resisting the wave of anti-trans legislation across the U.S. She explains how these laws—rooted in racism, classism, and cisnormativity—harm trans youth, deny essential health care, and criminalize affirming providers and families. Daye also highlights T.A.K.E.'s civic engagement efforts, including voting rights advocacy for trans people of color. Grounded in love, resilience, and community leadership, this conversation offers a powerful look at organizing for safety, dignity, and justice. In this episode: The wave of anti-trans legislation and how it targets trans youth, families, and providers How transphobia is rooted in racism, classism, and cisgender white patriarchal normativity The truth about puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and countering misinformation Voting rights advocacy and civic engagement for trans people of color How T.A.K.E. builds community leadership and organizes for safety, dignity, and justice www.takebhm.org Instagram take_resourcecenter Facebook T.A.K.E. Resource Center https://www.equalityfederation.org/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 53 Guest: Jessica Isom, MD, MPH Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Jessica Isom, a board-certified community psychiatrist and clinical instructor at Yale University, shares her work advancing racial equity in medicine and mental health through clinical care, education, and consulting. She discusses how racism—not race—is the true risk factor for poor health outcomes, and how pathologizing Blackness in medical and psychiatric frameworks causes real harm. Dr. Isom explores how whiteness and Eurocentric standards shape mental health systems, including the DSM, and offers insight into practicing with a lens grounded in equity, Black healing, and joy. This conversation challenges deficit-based approaches and calls for systemic transformation in health care. In this episode: How racism—not race—is the root risk factor for poor health outcomes How pathologizing Blackness causes harm and perpetuates racist health narratives How whiteness and Eurocentricity show up in mental health systems, including the DSM Deficit-based ideology and why it fails Black communities Black healing, joy, and what equity-centered clinical practice looks like www.vision4equity.com X/Instagram/Clubhouse @drjessisommdmph TikTok @vision4equityllc LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-elizabeth-isom-md-mph-12ba54a2/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 52 Guest: Monica Cox, PhD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Monica Cox, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at The Ohio State University, shares her experiences navigating higher education and DEI as a Black woman and unapologetic truth-teller. She discusses the harm of performative diversity, the persistence of systemic racism in academic and organizational spaces, and the cost of authenticity in these environments. Drawing from her personal and professional journey, Dr. Cox offers a bold critique grounded in lived experience, clarity, and purpose. This conversation challenges the status quo and calls listeners to reflect, reckon, and choose transformation. In this episode: Navigating higher education and DEI as a Black woman The harm of performative diversity and organizational dysfunction How systemic racism manifests in academic and professional spaces The cost of living authentically in spaces that resist it A challenge to institutions and individuals to choose real transformation www.drmonicacox.com X, Instagram & TikTok @drmonicacox LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/drmonicafcox Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 51 Guests: Joyce McMillan; Victoria, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Joyce McMillan, Founder and Executive Director of JMac for Families and Parent Legislative Action Network, and Victoria, a PhD candidate at UCLA and community organizer, discuss the family policing system—commonly known as the child welfare system—and their abolitionist work. They explain how the system targets families in poverty, disproportionately harms Black, Brown, and Indigenous families, and functions as a carceral system of surveillance and control. Drawing on their personal experiences, they highlight the lack of rights for parents, the misuse of mandatory reporting, and the need to shift from separation to true family support. Together, they call for a complete transformation rooted in justice and care. In this episode: Why this system is more accurately called the family policing system How the system targets families in poverty and disproportionately harms Black, Brown, and Indigenous families The history of racist social control in the creation and operation of this system Mandatory reporting, predictive analytics, and the lack of Miranda rights for parents What it would look like to truly support families rather than separate them Joyce https://jmacforfamilies.org/ X @JMacForFamilies Instagram jmacforfamilies Victoria www.veephd.blog https://upendmovement.org/ https://stoplapdspying.org/ Transformative Justice Handbook https://www.lovewithaccountability.com/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 50 Guest: Jasmine Banks Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Jasmine Banks, Executive Director of UnKoch My Campus, exposes how the Koch network influences education and policy through massive financial contributions and targeted campaigns. She explains how this network promotes agendas that suppress voting rights, deny climate change, attack workers' rights, and censor discussions of systemic racism, all while threatening multiracial democracy. Jasmine details how UnKoch My Campus works with students to organize against corporate influence in education and breaks down the consequences of unchecked political spending enabled by rulings like Citizens United. This conversation is a powerful call to follow the money, confront hidden systems of power, and take action for democratic accountability. In this episode: What the Koch network is and how it uses financial influence to shape education and policy How the Koch agenda suppresses voting rights, denies climate change, and attacks workers' rights The Koch network's role in attacking critical race theory, the 1619 Project, and multiracial democracy How Citizens United enabled unchecked corporate financial influence over elections and legislation How UnKoch My Campus works with students to organize and challenge this agenda www.unkochmycampus.org X @UnKochCampus Instagram unkochcampus Facebook @UnKochMyCampus Generation Common Good www.generationcommongood.org Article https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charles-koch-crt-backlash/ NASW & Sinema petition by Boston Liberation Health Collective https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhaCWsVZ--u8RHFULOWg_BbNqr7GKoqvZX7tycmeHnv53mtw/viewform Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 49 Guests: Kelechi Wright, LCPC, LPC; Kortney Carr, LCSW, LSCSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Kelechi Wright, a doctoral student in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, and Kortney Carr, a Professor of Practice and doctoral student at the same institution, discuss their article The Whitewashing of Social Work History, which calls for an honest, equitable retelling of the profession's past. They highlight how traditional narratives erase Black social welfare leaders, uphold white saviorism, and perpetuate white supremacy in social work education and practice. The conversation emphasizes the need to honor Black social work movements rooted in community traditions and to build a just foundation for the field's future. Kelechi and Kortney also explore the responsibilities of educators and practitioners in advancing racial justice within the profession. In this episode: How social work history has been whitewashed and why it matters The erasure of Black social welfare leaders and the perpetuation of white saviorism How an inaccurate history perpetuates white supremacy in social work education and practice The communal traditions of Black social work and social welfare movements The responsibilities of educators and practitioners in advancing racial justice within the profession The Whitewashing of Social Work History: How Dismantling Racism in Social Work Education Begins With an Equitable History of the Profession Kelechi https://www.uh.edu/class/aas/faculty/kelechi-wright/ Kortney www.linkedin.com/in/kortneyacarr Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 48 Guest: Tyra Wanatee-Flores, BSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Tyra Wanatee-Flores, a descendant of the Sac and Fox Nation of the Mississippi in Iowa and an MSW student at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses her work addressing youth suicide, substance abuse, and gender-based violence in Indigenous communities. She shares how she integrates culturally grounded, community-driven approaches to mental health and social work, informed by her experience as a Buder Scholar and her commitment to decolonizing practice. Tyra also talks about her advocacy with Meskwaki RISE, supporting Indigenous survivors of domestic and sexual violence. She highlights her activism in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement and why it is critical for all of us to take action to end this violence. In this episode: Addressing youth suicide and substance abuse in Indigenous communities How Eurocentric mental health frameworks fall short and how to move beyond them Decolonizing practice through community, tradition, and culture Supporting Indigenous survivors of domestic and sexual violence through Meskwaki RISE Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and how we can all take action to end this violence Instagram tyywanatee X @tyerista TikTok @tyrista Meskwaki RISE Meskwaki RISE Facebook Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 47 Guest: Armen Henderson, MD Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Armen Henderson, Director of Health Programs at Dream Defenders and Founder of Dade County Street Response, shares his work bringing medical care directly to poor and working-class communities in Miami. He discusses how social determinants of health are deeply rooted in racism, classism, and systemic inequity—highlighting examples such as climate injustice, lack of housing, and barriers to healthcare access. Armen reflects on how the murder of Trayvon Martin led him to organize for racial justice through an abolitionist, anti-capitalist lens within medicine. This conversation underscores the need to reimagine public health as a tool for liberation and community care. In this episode: Bringing medicine directly to poor and working-class communities outside the hospital setting How social determinants of health are rooted in racism, classism, and systemic inequity Climate injustice, hurricanes, and how racism and classism determine who bears the greatest harm Serving unhoused communities and the racial profiling Dr. Henderson experienced during COVID How the murder of Trayvon Martin led him to an abolitionist, anti-capitalist approach to medicine www.dreamdefenders.org Instagram dr.doitall305 Facebook armen.henderson Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 46 Guest: Jalil Muntaqim Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Jalil Muntaqim, revolutionary, former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, and current community organizer with Citizen Action of New York, shares his powerful story of resistance, survival, and ongoing liberation work. Arrested at age 19 and imprisoned for nearly 50 years, Jalil reflects on his time organizing from within prison, the repression he faced—including solitary confinement for teaching Black history—and how he remained unbroken. He discusses U.S. genocide against Black and Indigenous people, social work's complicity through child removal, and his efforts to organize an international tribunal to hold the U.S. accountable. This conversation is a testament to unwavering commitment to Black liberation and a call to resist systemic violence in all its forms. In this episode: Jalil's history with the Black Panther Party, Black Liberation Army, and nearly 50 years as a political prisoner Organizing from within prison and the repression he faced, including repeated solitary confinement The dehumanizing nature of prison and what it means to remain unbroken The U.S. genocide of Black and Indigenous people and social work's complicity through child removal Organizing an international tribunal to formally charge the U.S. with genocide Email [email protected] www.spiritofmandela.org www.thejerichomovement.com www.citizenactionny.org Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 45 Guest: Wayne Reid, Professional Officer, Social Worker & Anti-Racism Visionary Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Wayne Reid, Professional Officer and Anti-Racism Visionary at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), shares his bold and principled approach to anti-racist social work. He discusses how the murder of George Floyd catalyzed his advocacy, leading to numerous BASW initiatives and resources that push the profession to confront white supremacy embedded in policy, practice, and culture. Wayne emphasizes that anti-racism must be an explicit part of professional conduct—within client work, peer relationships, and institutional structures—and outlines the responsibilities organizations have to protect and support social workers of color. This conversation offers a powerful international perspective on what it means to lead with clarity, courage, and action in the face of systemic racism. In this episode: How the murder of George Floyd catalyzed Wayne's anti-racism advocacy within BASW How white supremacy and racism are embedded in social work laws, policies, institutions, and practice His "pure, proactive, and unapologetic" approach to anti-racism in social work The need for anti-racism as an explicit standard of professional conduct — with clients and colleagues What organizations must do to protect social workers of color and transform into anti-racist institutions X @wayne_reid79 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-reid Email [email protected] Steps organizations can take to transform into anti-racist organizations Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 44 Guest: Alesandra Lozano, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Alesandra Lozano, Director of Communications and Advocacy at the Texas Civil Rights Project, shares her journey from grassroots LGBTQ organizing to leading policy advocacy efforts in Texas. She discusses TCRP's work to protect voting rights and how it's deeply connected to immigrant justice and criminal legal reform. Alesandra offers practical strategies for engaging in local advocacy, including public testimony and coalition building through efforts like the Texas for All coalition. This episode is a master class in organizing for change and ensuring our communities have a voice in the policies that affect them. In this episode: TCRP's work on voting rights, immigrant justice, and criminal legal reform — and how they're connected Practical strategies for local policy advocacy, including public testimony at county and city hearings How to build and sustain coalitions to expand political power The Texas for All coalition and the fight against voter suppression Redistricting and why fair representation matters for all communities txcivilrights.org X @TXCivilRights Instagram TXCivilRights Facebook TexasCivilRightsProject www.democracyfromthegroundup.org Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 43 Guests: Cameron Rasmussen, MSW; Durrell Washington, MSW; Michelle Grier, LMSW; Vivianne Guevara, LMSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Durrell Washington, Vivianne Guevara, Cameron Rasmussen, and Michelle Grier of the Network to Advance Abolitionist Social Work (NAASW) discuss their collective efforts to integrate abolition into social work practice. They explain how social work has historically supported carceral systems and how NAASW challenges the profession's complicity with policing, surveillance, and white supremacy. The conversation explores what abolition means, how to apply it in both vision and action, and how their collective offers support for navigating the tensions between values and practice. This episode invites listeners to reimagine social work rooted in collective care, radical healing, and transformative justice. In this episode: What abolition means and how it can be applied as a framework for social work How social work has supported — and continues to support — carceral systems, surveillance, and gatekeeping The connection between social work's complicity and white supremacy and liberalism How to take smaller steps toward abolition now while working toward a larger long-term vision How NAASW provides collective support for social workers doing abolition work in the field www.naasw.com Instagram abolitionistsw Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 42 Guests: Nicole Vazquez, MSW, MPP & Susana Victoria Parras, LCSW, PPSC Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Nicole Vazquez, a critical race scholar and consultant, and Susana Victoria Parras, a justice-focused therapist, discuss how critical race theory (CRT) can transform social work practice. They explore applying CRT's tenets to challenge the micro-macro divide, reexamine professionalism, and build authentic, collaborative relationships rooted in humility and historical context. The conversation highlights how liberalism and individualism undermine collective healing and perpetuate oppression, while ancestral and Indigenous ways offer paths toward connection. Susana also shares her perspective on healing justice work and what it means to move beyond the limitations of CRT. In this episode: How CRT challenges the micro-macro divide in social work practice Applying CRT's tenets through positionality, power, and practitioner humility How liberalism and individualism perpetuate oppression and undermine community and culture How social work's concept of professionalism can reinforce separation rooted in colonization Healing justice work and whether social work can truly be decolonized Nicole Instagram amoradelante Susana Instagram heal2gether X Heal2gether_ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 41 Guest: Hayden Dawes, LCSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Hayden Dawes, a PhD student, therapist, and clinical social worker in Greensboro, North Carolina, shares his work addressing mental health disparities and promoting culturally humble, anti-racist clinical practice. He discusses the importance of talking openly about race, racism, and systemic oppression in therapy—and doing the inner work to recognize internalized oppression and privilege. Hayden explains his approach to training clinicians and supporting clients, particularly people of color and LGBTQIA communities, in identifying when "the oppressor is speaking." The conversation also explores how white therapists can and must engage white clients in conversations about racism. In this episode: Addressing mental health disparities through cultural humility and anti-racist clinical practice The need to talk about race, racism, and systemic oppression within the clinical setting How internalized oppression shows up in clients and how to identify when "the oppressor is speaking" Why white therapists must engage white clients in conversations about race and racism The connection between clinical practice, identity, and structural analysis www.hcdawes.com X @hcdawes Instagram hcdawes Newsletter Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 40 Guest: Anjanette Young, LCSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Anjanette Young, LCSW and founder of Café Social Work in Chicago, shares her harrowing experience of being wrongfully raided by the Chicago Police Department while naked and alone in her home. She describes the trauma of the incident, the city's attempted cover-up, and how it propelled her from a 25-year career in direct service social work into social justice activism. Anjanette now fights for policy change to hold the City of Chicago accountable and prevent similar violations against Black and Brown residents. This conversation is a powerful testimony of resilience, truth-telling, and the demand for systemic accountability. In this episode: Anjanette's experience of being wrongfully raided at gunpoint by Chicago police in her own home How the city attempted to cover up the raid — and how the body cam footage was finally released The Chicago Police Department's repeated violations of the rights of Black and Brown residents How this experience transformed her from a direct service social worker into a policy advocate Her ongoing fight to hold the City of Chicago accountable and prevent this from happening to others www.iamher21.com www.cafesocialwork.com X @AnjanetteYoung0 Instagram cafesocialwork Facebook @Anjanette.Young.1 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/anjanette-young-7702447/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 39 Guest: Kristen Brock-Petroshius, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Kristen Brock-Petroshius, a PhD candidate in Social Welfare at UCLA and community organizer with White People 4 Black Lives, discusses her work engaging white communities in racial justice through deep canvassing and political education. She shares her journey into organizing and how she came to view anti-racism as essential for white people's collective liberation. Kristen also highlights her research on deep canvassing as a social justice strategy, examining its origins in LGBTQ+ movements and its application in campaigns like Reform LA Jails. This conversation explores how building political power through relational, accountable organizing can advance racial justice. In this episode: Why organizing white people to do racial justice work in white communities matters How deep canvassing works and what a conversation looks like in practice The origins of deep canvassing in same-sex marriage and transgender justice movements How deep canvassing was used in the Reform LA Jails campaign led by Patrisse Cullors When deep canvassing works — and when other approaches are needed Bluesky @[email protected] Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 38 Guests: Garland Jaggers, MSW & Denise McLane-Davison, PhD, AM Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Mr. Garland Jaggers, co-founder of the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), and Dr. Denise McLane-Davison, Associate Professor at Morgan State University and NABSW's Founding Researcher and Archivist, share the powerful history and ongoing work of NABSW. They recount the organization's founding in 1968 as a response to racism within the social work profession and their commitment to building a liberatory, Black-centered alternative. The conversation highlights NABSW's focus on developing Black practitioners and researchers, establishing its own code of ethics, and centering the Black family and community. Mr. Jaggers and Dr. Davison offer a bold vision of liberation, rooted in history and carried forward by action. In this episode: The founding of NABSW in 1968 — walking out of NASW and building a Black-centered alternative The racism within the social work profession that made a separate organization necessary NABSW's work developing Black researchers and practitioners and centering Black expertise NABSW's own code of ethics and positions on transracial adoption and licensing Strengths-based, liberatory approaches centered on the Black family and community National Association of Black Social Workers http://www.nabsw.org/ Mr. Garland Jaggers Email [email protected] To purchase That Rare Moment in History Volumes I & II, contact Mr. Jaggers at the email above. Dr. Denise McLane-Davison X @DeniseDavison Email [email protected] The Strength of Black Families: The Elusive Ties of Perspective and Praxis in Social Work Education Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 37 Guests: Laura S. Abrams, MSW, PhD; Nicole Vazquez, MSW, MPP Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dr. Laura Abrams, Chair and Professor of Social Welfare at UCLA, and Nicole Vazquez, a critical race scholar and consultant, discuss the foundations and application of critical race theory (CRT) in social work. They explore key CRT tenets—including the social construction of race, everyday racism, interest convergence, and counter-narratives—and how these ideas challenge white supremacist culture and liberal myths like meritocracy and colorblindness. The conversation highlights CRT's alignment with social work's social justice mission and offers guidance for educators, students, and practitioners seeking to implement it in their work. This episode is a powerful call to interrogate dominant narratives and build more liberatory, equity-driven approaches in social work. In this episode: The history of CRT and the legal scholars who developed it Core CRT tenets — race as a social construct, everyday racism, colorblindness, interest convergence, and counter-narratives How white supremacist culture strips communities of color from collective and community-based ways of being CRT's fit with social work's social justice mission How educators, students, and practitioners can implement CRT in their work and programs Laura LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/laura-abrams-a3336553 Nicole Instagram amoradelante Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 36 Guest: Nathan Stephens, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Nathan Stephens, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Illinois State University and PhD candidate at the University of Missouri, shares his powerful journey from incarceration to academia and community leadership. He speaks candidly about childhood trauma, spirituality, and the transformative role of education in his life, highlighting how his experiences shape his teaching, research, and work with Black men and boys. Nathan discusses issues such as racialized stress, the hypersexualization and sexual abuse of Black boys and men, and the systemic barriers created by hypersurveillance and criminal records. This conversation centers lived experience as expertise and calls for justice-rooted approaches in both social work and society. In this episode: Nathan's journey from incarceration through healing, education, and into social work academia How lived experience informs his teaching, research, and community work with Black men and youth Racialized stress and the trauma of hypersexualization and sexual abuse of Black boys and men Hypersurveillance in Black and Brown communities and the systemic barriers created by arrest records Teaching Social Justice in Social Work inside a prison and creating programs for Black men in the community Facebook Mister Nathan Stephens LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-a-s-25416522/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 35 Guests: Alicia Martinez, MSW; David "Tiny" Estrada; Shipra Parikh, PhD, LCSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Alicia Martinez, David "Tiny" Estrada, and Dr. Shipra Parikh from Enlace Chicago share their work supporting youth and families in the Little Village neighborhood through violence prevention, counseling, restorative justice, and community advocacy. They highlight the strength and resilience of this primarily Latine community, while naming the structural barriers—including poverty, gentrification, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on essential workers—that affect daily life. The conversation explores how Enlace adapted to meet urgent needs, from food distribution to virtual outreach, and how the organization models the values of justice and care it promotes. This episode uplifts community-based work rooted in love, solidarity, and the collective creation of a more just world. In this episode: Violence prevention, conflict mediation, restorative justice, and youth leadership in Little Village The structural barriers facing this primarily Latine community and its resilience in response How COVID-19 hit essential worker communities hardest and how Enlace adapted its services Gentrification in Little Village and the community's response through supporting local businesses How Enlace Chicago models within its organization the kind of world it wants to see www.enlacechicago.org X @EnlaceChicago Instagram enlace.chicago Facebook Enlace Chicago LinkedIn Enlace Chicago Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 34 Guest: Dawn Brown, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Dawn Brown, social work educator and Legislative Chair of NASW-Florida, shares how social workers can engage in meaningful legislative advocacy — from attending committee hearings to building relationships with elected officials. She discusses NASW-FL's annual Legislative Education Advocacy Day (LEAD), the importance of voting at every level of government, and what accountability looks like beyond the ballot box. Drawing on her experience as a Black woman and social justice advocate, Dawn offers a clear call for social workers to use their skills and voice in the political arena. In this episode: Strategies social workers can use to engage in legislative advocacy NASW-FL's Legislative Education Advocacy Day (LEAD) and how it brings students to the Capitol The importance of voting at national, state, and local levels What voting means to Dawn as a Black woman and why it matters beyond Election Day Building relationships with elected officials and holding them accountable to a social justice agenda www.naswfl.org Email [email protected] X @DBReclaimMyTime Instagram virgo10212 Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 33 Guests: André Marcel Harris, BSW; Dashawna J. Fussell-Ware, MSW; Deana Ayers, BSW; Vivian Taylor, MSW Host: Charla Cannon Yearwood, LSW In collaboration with SWCAREs – Social Work Coalition for Anti-Racist Educators – this episode features Charla Yearwood as guest host, facilitating a powerful conversation with Black social workers André, Dashawna, Deana, and Vivian about their experiences in social work education. Speaking with honesty and vulnerability, they share how social work programs often inflict harm on Black students through racism, exclusion, and systemic violence. This episode offers an unfiltered space for truth-telling, reflection, and a call for urgent change in the profession. It is both a gift and a challenge to all of us working toward transformation. In this episode: Black social workers speak openly about their experiences in social work education How social work programs cause harm to Black students through racism and exclusion The importance of creating unfiltered space for Black voices in the profession A call for urgent, structural transformation in social work education SWCAREs www.swcares.org André X @andreharris89 Instagram andremarcelharris Facebook Facebook.com/AndreMarcelHarris Cash App $AndreMarcelHarris Dashawna Cash App $docfw22 Venmo @shawnafw PayPal www.paypal.com/paypalme/shawnafw Vivian X @TayloredLooks Cash App $TayloredBills Venmo @Vivian-Taylor-25 Black Men in Social Work X @blackmeninSW Instagram blackmeninsocialwork Facebook Facebook.com/blackmeninsocialwork Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 32 Guest: K Agbebiyi, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW K Agbebiyi, a prison abolitionist based in Washington Heights, New York, breaks down what prison abolition actually means — both as a vision for a transformed world and as immediate, practical work to close prisons now. They connect mass incarceration and policing to the history of chattel slavery and anti-Blackness, and offer concrete ways to get involved at the local level. K also shares their own story as a survivor who organizes alongside other survivors, and speaks to questions of accountability, safety, and the connections between abolition, child welfare, and social work. In this episode: What prison abolition means — creating the world we want while working to close prisons now How mass incarceration and policing are rooted in the history of chattel slavery and anti-Blackness How to get involved locally — tracking budgets, monitoring jail construction, and building coalitions Organizing as a survivor alongside others who reject incarceration as a response to harm Accountability, safety, and the connections between abolition, child welfare, and social work www.8toAbolition.com Instagram @sheabutterfemme X @sheabutterfemme Email [email protected] X @survivepunishNY Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 31 Guest: Lutze Segu, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Lutze Segu, the Social Justice Doula from Miami, Florida, shares her work creating conditions for social justice learning and transformation in individuals and organizations. Rooted in Black Feminist theory, she discusses how systems of oppression — not individual failings — shape people's conditions, and challenges social workers to examine how they may be pathologizing oppression rather than naming it. Lutze speaks with deep hope about people's capacity to change and offers a powerful call to divest from anti-Blackness in both practice and life. In this episode: What it means to create conditions for social justice learning and transformation How Black Feminist theory reframes oppression and connects to social work's person-in-environment approach How social workers pathologize oppression by placing the problem inside clients rather than naming systemic violence The challenge to ask what we are really practicing and how we personally divest from anti-Blackness The transformative impact of attending an HBCU and how it shaped her path www.lutzesegu.com Instagram @socialjusticedoula X @FeministGriote Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 30 Guests: Mark Houston, LCSW & Pauline Green, Esq. Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Mark Houston, LCSW and Pauline Green, Esq., of The Alliance for GLBTQ Youth in Miami, share their organization's comprehensive work supporting LGBTQ youth in Miami-Dade County through clinical services, care coordination, community education, and policy advocacy. They discuss the intersecting challenges facing LGBTQ youth — including homelessness, safety, homophobia, transphobia, and racism — and how The Alliance builds affirming, youth-led community rooted in resilience. The conversation also addresses the harm caused by practitioners who fail to challenge heterosexism and cisgenderism in their work. In this episode: The Alliance's work with LGBTQ youth — clinical services, care coordination, education, and policy change Key issues facing LGBTQ youth including safety, homelessness, and intersecting forms of oppression How The Alliance builds affirming, youth-led community grounded in resilience The harm done by social workers and clinicians who fail to challenge heterosexism and cisgenderism www.glbtqalliance.org Instagram @glbtqalliance Facebook @glbtqalliance X @glbtqalliance Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 29 Guest: Tre King, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Tre King, Mental Health Coordinator in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, shares what it means to do this work in the same community where he grew up — serving students he sees himself in. He discusses the realities of school-based mental health practice, the gap between how marginalized communities are discussed in social work classrooms and the lived experience of practitioners from those communities, and the importance of community-rooted, culturally grounded care. In this episode: What school-based mental health coordination looks like across Miami-Dade County Public Schools What it means to serve students in the same community and school district where you grew up The gap between how marginalized communities are discussed in social work education versus lived practice reality Community training efforts including Mental Health First Aid X @Tre_King_MDCPS http://mentalhealthservices.dadeschools.net/ MDCPS Mental Health Services X @MDCPS_MHS MDCPS Mental Health Services Parent Assistance Line (305) 995-7100 Monday–Friday 8am–4pm Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 28 Guest: Alejandra Martinez Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Alejandra Martinez, Workshop Coordinator of the Border Rights Project at Al Otro Lado, describes the harsh realities facing migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border — including illegal waitlists, family separation, and the "Remain in Mexico" policy. She explains how her team provides legal orientation, "Know Your Rights" sessions, and connections to shelter and medical care in Tijuana, offering a trauma-informed, supportive space for people who have endured long and dangerous journeys. This episode is a sobering and essential look at the human cost of U.S. immigration policy and the frontline work of those fighting for dignity and justice. In this episode: The conditions faced by migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border U.S. policies including illegal waitlists, family separation, and the Migrant Protection Protocol How Al Otro Lado provides legal orientation, "Know Your Rights" sessions, and wraparound services in Tijuana The trauma-informed, supportive space the Border Rights Project creates for asylum seekers How Al Otro Lado reunited 29 families who had been separated www.alotrolado.org X @AlOtroLado_Org Instagram @alotrolado_org Facebook www.facebook.com/AlOtroLadoOrg Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 27 Guests: Charla Cannon Yearwood, LSW & Laura Hoge, LCSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Charla Cannon Yearwood, a clinical assistant professor at Indiana University, and Laura Hoge, a psychotherapist and community organizer, discuss the mission of SWCAREs – Social Work Coalition for Anti-Racist Educators – to dismantle white supremacy in social work education. They break down how white supremacy shows up in the profession, from erasing leaders of color in social work history to upholding ethics and practices that often harm marginalized communities. Charla and Laura offer historical context, real-world examples, and a clear call for transformation. This episode marks the beginning of deeper, necessary conversations on race, power, and justice in social work. In this episode: SWCAREs' mission to dismantle white supremacy in social work education How white supremacy shows up in the profession — from erased history to harmful practices How professional ethics and boundaries are often designed by and for white social workers Historical and current examples of how social work perpetuates harm in communities of color A call for structural transformation rooted in racial justice and liberation Charla Yearwood LinkedIn Charla Yearwood Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 26 Guests: Brenton Gicker & Chelsea Swift Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Brenton Gicker and Chelsea Swift of CAHOOTS — Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets — describe how this 24/7 mobile crisis intervention program in Eugene, Oregon pairs a mental health worker and a medic to respond to crises that don't require police. They walk through what a typical shift looks like, how 911 calls are routed to their team, and why this model is both cost-effective and more humane — reducing arrests and using de-escalation over force. CAHOOTS offers a compelling, proven vision for what community-based crisis response can look like. In this episode: How CAHOOTS works — a mental health crisis worker and medic responding together in a mobile unit How 911 calls are routed to CAHOOTS rather than police for certain situations The cost-effectiveness and humanitarian benefits of this model — fewer arrests, more de-escalation What a typical shift looks like for crisis workers in the field How Brenton and Chelsea each came to this work and expanded their roles to include medical training www.whitebirdclinic.org/cahoots X @WhiteBirdClinic Facebook www.facebook.com/WhiteBirdClinic Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 25 Guests: T. Marie King & Abigail Schneider Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW T. Marie King and Abigail Schneider of the Jefferson County Memorial Project in Birmingham, Alabama share their work to research, honor, and memorialize the 30 documented victims of lynching in Jefferson County. Responding to the Equal Justice Initiative's call for counties to claim their monuments from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the project centers the humanity and stories of those who were killed — including T. Marie's own great-uncle, murdered in 1935 for organizing sharecroppers. This episode is a powerful testament to the ongoing work of racial truth-telling, memory, and justice. In this episode: The Jefferson County Memorial Project's origins and its response to the Equal Justice Initiative's call to action Researching the lives and humanity of the 30 documented lynching victims in Jefferson County T. Marie's personal connection — her great-uncle Ed Bracy, killed by a white mob in 1935 for organizing sharecroppers Educational outreach and advocacy work for racial justice in the community Email [email protected] www.jeffersoncountymemorial.com Instagram jeffcomemorial Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jeffersoncountymemorialproject EJI https://eji.org Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 24 Guest: Eric Ward Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Eric Ward, Executive Director of Western States Center, shares his decades of experience organizing against white nationalism and white supremacy. He explains how antisemitism and racism fuel the white nationalist movement and outlines its growing political influence in the U.S., particularly in shaping policy. Eric discusses community-based strategies used by Western States Center — like local research, coalition building, and education — to counter this threat. He also reflects on his personal path into this work and offers actionable ways listeners can get involved in the fight against white nationalism. In this episode: How antisemitism and racism are at the core of white nationalism White nationalism as a growing social movement building political power and shaping U.S. policy Strategies Western States Center uses — local research, coalition building, school materials, and trainings Concrete ways everyone can fight white nationalism in their communities www.westernstatescenter.org Instagram wstatescenter Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 23 Guest: Jordan Thierry Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Jordan Thierry, owner of Dream Chase Media and policy consultant, shares his work at the intersection of storytelling and social justice. He discusses his film The Black Fatherhood Project, which examines the structural forces shaping Black families, and his new YouTube series Grandma's Roses — a tribute to his grandmother and a platform for the stories of grandmothers of color. Jordan reflects on what this storytelling work has meant to him personally and how it connects to his broader goal of educating and inspiring people to action. In this episode: The Black Fatherhood Project — historical and present-day context for the structural forces impacting Black families Grandma's Roses — a YouTube series honoring the stories of grandmothers of color, inspired by Jordan's own grandmother What grassroots storytelling looks like and how it connects to social justice organizing Jordan's policy work with The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DreamChaseLife/ Instagram @DreamChaseLife Email [email protected] YouTube www.dreamchase.life Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 22 Guest: Rachel Frome, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Rachel Frome, Program Coordinator of Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement, makes the case for abolishing solitary confinement and its connection to the broader fight to end mass incarceration. She details the severe mental health impacts of solitary, exposes how euphemisms like "administrative segregation" obscure the reality of the practice, and describes alternatives and organizing strategies. Rachel also speaks directly to social workers—including those working inside these systems—about their role and responsibility in this work. In this episode: The mental health impacts of solitary confinement and how it causes and worsens psychological harm How "administrative segregation" and similar language is used to deny the reality of solitary confinement Alternatives to solitary and the challenges of organizing for its abolition The connection between ending solitary confinement and ending mass incarceration The role of social workers—including those inside these systems—in this fight https://www.socialworkersasc.org/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SWASC/ X @end_solitary Email [email protected] Rachel's email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 21 Guest: Asia Piña, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Asia Piña, Early Defense Social Worker at Bronx Defenders, describes her work defending parents facing abuse and neglect charges in the Bronx. She exposes how racism and systemic oppression shape child welfare policy and practice, resulting in the disproportionate removal of Black and Brown children and children living in poverty. Asia speaks to the experience of families in the Bronx who feel under constant surveillance by the state, and offers a message for social work students considering this field. In this episode: How Bronx Defenders' Family Defense Practice uses a team of social workers, parent advocates, and attorneys to defend parents The disproportionate removal of Black and Brown children and children in poverty from their families How racism and systemic oppression are embedded in child welfare policy and practice The experience of Bronx families living under constant surveillance by NYPD and ACS Self-care in this work and a message for students interested in child welfare X @BronxDefenders Facebook @bronxdefenders Instagram @bronxdefenders Email [email protected] Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 20 Guest: Ocesa Keaton, MSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Ocesa Keaton, Executive Director of Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E., shares her organization's comprehensive approach to anti-poverty work—addressing systemic barriers at both the individual and systems levels to create real opportunity and equity. She discusses the racial wealth gap, the harmful stereotypes that surround people in poverty, and why policy work and voting are essential tools for social change. Ocesa also reflects on her own unexpected path into social work and what drives her commitment to this work. In this episode: H.O.P.E.'s strategies for eliminating systemic barriers to opportunity and equity at both individual and systems levels The racial wealth gap in the U.S. and harmful stereotypes about people in poverty Why policy work and voting are essential for lasting social change Ocesa's personal journey into social work and what sustains her in this work Email [email protected] www.greatersyracusehope.org Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 19 Guest: Margo Walsh Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Margo Walsh, Founder and CEO of MaineWorks and Co-Founder of the Maine Recovery Fund, shares how her organization provides employment to people with felony convictions re-entering society—addressing the profound barriers that a criminal record creates for the rest of a person's life. She discusses Maine's opioid crisis, the problems with the term "ex-felon," and the intersection of recovery, mental health, and reentry. Shimon also opens up about a personal loss that connects him to this work. In this episode: How MaineWorks was created to provide jobs to people with felony convictions and the barriers they face in reentry Maine's opioid crisis and the complex barriers many employees face beyond simply finding work The harm in the term "ex-felon" and how a felony conviction follows a person for life Mental health, recovery, and what sustainable reentry support looks like Email [email protected] https://www.maineworks.us/ https://www.mainerecoveryfund.org/ Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 18 Guest: Christopher Cuevas Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Christopher Cuevas, Executive Director of QLatinx in Orlando, shares the story of how this grassroots organization was born in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016. He speaks to the pain, healing, and collective power that emerged from that tragedy, and names the layered oppressions faced by LGBTQ+ Latinx communities—including barriers to culturally competent mental health care, marginalization within mainstream LGBTQ spaces, and lack of legal protection. This is a story of community, resilience, and justice-centered organizing. In this episode: How QLatinx was created in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting and what that process of grief and organizing looked like Barriers to culturally competent mental health services for LGBTQ+ Latinx communities Marginalization within the white, middle-class LGBTQ community and lack of federal and state legal protection QLatinx's ongoing work for racial, social, and gender justice in Central Florida QLatinx https://www.qlatinx.org/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/qlatinx Instagram http://www.instagram.com/qlatinx X http://www.twitter.com/qlatinx Christopher Email [email protected] Facebook http://www.facebook.com/chrisjaycuevas X http://www.twitter.com/chrisjaycuevas Instagram http://www.instagram.com/chrisjaycuevas Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 17 Guest: Leili Lyman Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW Leili Lyman, a first-generation college student at UC Berkeley, shares the Youth Participatory Action Research she conducted as a high schooler at the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond, California. Her research explored why marijuana was the primary coping strategy for youth in her community—uncovering how trauma, lack of resources, and distrust of adults created significant barriers to seeking help. This episode centers youth voice and lived experience as a powerful tool for understanding and addressing community needs. In this episode: What Youth Participatory Action Research is and how Leili learned it at the RYSE Youth Center Why youth in Richmond reported marijuana as a safer coping strategy than talking to adults Trauma, lack of resources, stigma, and other barriers to counseling for youth in her community Leili's experience as a first-generation college student and researcher at UC Berkeley Email [email protected] Article in Chronicle of Social Change https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-trauma-2/why-do-so-many-youth-use-marijuana-as-a-coping-tool-heres-what-youth-had-to-say RYSE Center https://rysecenter.org Join the Doin' The Work Community https://dointhework.com/join Explore Continuing Education Courses https://dointhework.com/courses Podcast Episode Pages + Transcripts https://dointhework.com/podcast   Music credit "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/