It has been an intense, busy, and wonderful year for NASW-MO. Consider this your annual report! As your Executive Director, I have traveled throughout our wonderful state in 2023. I have visited places including Cape Girardeau in our bootheel, Kansas City, Joplin, Springfield, Fulton, Columbia, and more. I look forward to continuing to travel throughout the state to meet more social workers!
NASW-MO continues to build coalitions, work with related organizations, and do the bridge building work that social work demands!
We were proud to work extensively with PROMO this year while addressing legislation that impacted the LGBTQIA+ community in Missouri. Your ED and Board President have also built connections with the NAACP. We are working with colleges of social work throughout the state, creating a framework for ongoing conversations in the educational community. As your ED, I regularly attend meetings of the State Committee for Social Workers to represent NASW-MO and the social work profession, as well as to learn and report back what we might need to know. We are happy to report we are also establishing, for the first time in recent years, the groundwork for a mental health advocacy coalition with other mental health professional advocacy organizations in anticipation of the Legislative Session.
NASW-MO hosted our Symposium at the Lake of the Ozarks with wonderful attendance. Our speakers were well-received, and the education was top notch. As your ED, I presented to graduate and undergraduate students, taught continuing education, and promoted advocacy and policy awareness throughout the state. Our Professional Development Coordinator continues to provide an excellent ongoing CE program throughout the year to meet the educational needs of our members and other professionals.
We continue to send you updates and newsletters to provide you with information and connect you with your professional organization.
In July, we welcomed a new Board here at NASW-MO. If you haven’t reached out to your Regional Representative yet, feel free! Or connect with a Committee Chair, if you are interested!
Here at NASW-MO, we’re gearing up for the 2024 Legislative Session in Jefferson City. Pre-filing begins on December 1. We’ll soon have an idea of the priorities of our legislators for 2024.
But in this moment, I’m going to pause. That’s something, as social workers, we rarely do. I hope you’re enjoying a hot beverage as you read this! Coffee, tea (herbal or not), mulled cider. I hope you’re able to pause often in these short days for gratitude, family, and peace. I wish you joy, as the days shorten, and then lengthen. In cold days, I hope you find calm and warmth. Whatever this time of year means to you, I hope you look back on your year and recognize your own powerful contributions to the world.
Thank you for being a social worker!
In solidarity
Cassie E. Brown, MSW, LCSW (she/her/hers)
Executive Director, NASW-MO