Social Work Policy Conference

8th Annual Policy Conference
Past Events

8th Annual Social Work Policy Conference: Why Vote?

Presented by 海角社区’s Department of Social Work and NASW-CO听
Friday, September 27 from 9AM – 2PM
St. Cajetan’s on the Auraria Campus | 101 Lawrence Way, Denver CO 80204
In-Person and Virtual Event听

Thank you for joining the 海角社区 Department of Social Work for our 8th Annual Policy Conference, featuring a special welcome from 海角社区 President Janine A. Davidson. This year, we explored the crucial question, “Why vote?” with insightful discussions led by Dani Newsum, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Cobalt Advocacy, Colorado鈥檚 leading organization for reproductive rights and access. Through engaging presentations on transformative policies, legislative reforms, and community organizing initiatives impacting marginalized communities, this conference offered participants valuable insights on why voting matters and how social workers can drive innovative practices for a better future. We hope you joined this opportunity to be part of the conversation!

Stay tuned for information about next year’s conference, which will continue the tradition of impactful discussions and community engagement.

If you attended this year’s conference, please check the email address you registered with for access to the recordings and resources from the event.

Registration Fee

$15 Auraria Campus (All members of 海角社区, CU Denver, & CCD)
$30 General Admission

Rates include in-person and virtual听attendance!

Note: 海角社区 Social Work Students, Faculty, and Staff = Free Admission.
Do not register with the link below, instead check your email for registration information!

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1.9M with no funds financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Past Events

Friday, October 7, 2022 | 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Virtual Webinar

The 6th Annual Social Work Policy Conference, hosted by the Metropolitan State University of Denver Department of Social Work, will consist of a two (2) hour webinar focusing on practical applications of DEI work in policy by understanding how to thoughtfully and intentionally address equity in policy and legislation as well as dismantle systems of oppression.

2022 Social Work Policy Conference Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Colorado Representative Leslie Herod

Leslie Herod was elected in 2016 as the first LGBTQ African American in the Colorado General Assembly. Since then, she has passed 150 bills, addressing criminal justice reform, mental health, addiction, youth homelessness, and civil rights protections.

Some of her signature work includes:

Ending cash bail for minor offenses
De-felonizing drug possession
Giving every Colorado newborn a $100 college kickstarter account
Providing free menstrual hygiene products to inmates in Colorado鈥檚 prisons and jails
Passing a comprehensive police accountability bill following the highly public murder of George Floyd, and the nationwide movement that followed

In addition to winning reelection in 2018, Herod championed a ballot initiative 鈥� Caring for Denver 鈥� that raises $35 million annually for mental health and substance abuse treatment and services for children and adults. Herod serves as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the powerful Joint Budget Committee.

Moderator: Nina Williams-Mbengue

Nina Williams Mbengue retired as Senior Fellow in 2020 from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Child Welfare Project where for nearly 25 years, she provided advice and consultation, interpretation and analysis of child welfare trends, and commentary on child welfare policy initiatives and nuances to other nationally recognized experts, legislative policymakers, public officials, foundation executives, researchers and media representatives. Recognized as NCSL鈥檚 child welfare expert across a broad spectrum of organizations, state legislatures and in the subject field. This included providing policy content for NCSL’s 2020 Virtual Series on COVID-19 Impact on Child Welfare; managing NCSL’s response to the federal Family First Prevention Services Act; co-authoring 鈥淏ridging the Gaps Between Research, Policy and Practice in the Field of Child Maltreatment…鈥� a paper which won an EndCAN Foundation Disruption Paper award and was published in the International Journal of Child Maltreatment; and, managing NCSL component of national collaborative 鈥淭hree Branch鈥� Institutes with the National Governor鈥檚 Association consisting of state teams of representatives from the three branches of government developing statewide strategic plans on child welfare system policy. Nina created NCSL鈥檚 first Child Welfare Fellows program and has crafted technical assistance programs and written numerous publications for the legislative audience. Prior to NCSL, she worked in the Children鈥檚 Division at the American Humane Association. Nina is currently providing policy consultation on child welfare.

Panelists

Dr. DJ Ida, Ph.D. – National Consultant, from the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association: Dr. DJ Ida has over forty years of experience working with Asian American/Pacific Islander communities.听 She received her doctorate in clinical psychology and helped establish numerous organizations, including the Asian American Educational Opportunity Program at the U of Colorado, the Asian Pacific Development Center, a specialty mental health clinic in Denver and the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. She has served on numerous advisory boards including the US Dept HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Advisory Board, Mental Health America, the Annapolis Coalition for Behavioral Health Workforce, the Hogg Foundation and the UC Davis Medical School Center for Eliminating Health Disparities.听 She received the Robert Wood Johnson Award for Health Equity for her efforts to focus on the impact of mental health on the health and wellbeing of ethnically diverse and linguistically isolated populations.听 She was the primary author for the Office of Minority Health鈥檚 Integrated Care for AANHPIs:听 A Blueprint for Action (2012).听 In 2001 she served as a peer reviewer for the Surgeon General鈥檚 Report on Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity and was a contributing author for the Eliminating Disparities for Racial and Ethnic Communities Subcommittee report for the President鈥檚 New Freedom Commission on Mental Health as well as the Annapolis Coalition on Behavioral Health Workforce鈥檚 paper An Action Plan for Behavioral Health Workforce Development.听 In an effort to improve the quality of care for AANHPIs she helped develop Growing Our Own to train clinicians on how to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services; Achieving Whole Health to train community members to become Wellness Coaches; and the Mental Health Interpreters Training to work in mental health settings recognizing the unique challenges faced when interpreting with immigrant and refugee populations.
Elizabeth Mendez Shannon, MSW, Ph.D. – National Consultant, Director of DEI for the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Iowa: Dr. Liz Mendez-Shannon听is a national consultant in diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives. Her work has included the Diversity and Inclusion Community Engagement Lead for the American Rescue Plan Act (2021) and Disaster Recovery Divisions for Boulder County leading strategic planning in community engagement involving regional partnerships, collaborations with other community organizations, and integration of programs across multiple departments in the county.听 Her areas of specialization include macro-community development, programmatic leadership including start-up development, clinical practice development and cross-cultural organizing such as with local police, non-profit organizations, and universities; all while integrating efforts towards creating a welcoming workplace.
Michelle Davis, MS, LPC, PCC – Assistant Professor and Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice (JEDI) at the Kempe Center, University of Colorado-Anschutz: Michelle believes that we are the answer to the social ills that plague our society. She aspires to reach the essence of our humanity as an organization and relationship systems coach, as a leadership coach, and in her current role as director of JEDI, utilizing a comprehensive approach. One highlight of Michelle鈥檚 long-standing career is her design of a coaching program that elevates our ability to have conversations that bridge our divisions and generate personal and organizational belonging; Race Intelligence (RQ鈩�) seeks to facilitate discovery, healing, transformation, and action for individuals, teams, and organizations. As a Dare to Lead facilitator, Michelle works with teams to unleash daring leadership over armored leadership, support leaders in harnessing the Four Skill Sets of Courage鈩� in themselves and others, and to cultivate high-performing, cohesive teams. Michelle is a licensed professional counselor, certified systems coach, professionally certified coach, and certified Dare to Lead facilitator. She received her master鈥檚 in counseling at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, binging great shows, family game nights, and traveling near and far to marvel at the wonders of this world.
Sheldon Spotted Elk – Senior Director of Judicial and National Engagement at Casey Family Programs: Sheldon Spotted Elk has a background and presents regularly on tribal law, child welfare and the ICWA. He is currently a judge on the Ute Indian Tribe Court of Appeals (Fort Duchesne, Utah) in a jurisdiction he once represented children in child welfare and juvenile delinquency matters. He has worked as an adjunct professor teaching a law school course on Family Law in Indian Country. He was recently recognized as a NCAIED 40 Under 40 recipient, a prestigious award which recognizes 40 emerging American Indian leaders from across Indian Country. He has published an influential law review article on tribal constitutional reform and has authored articles on the ICWA.听 Sheldon is a graduate from University of New Mexico School of Law and received the Certificate in Federal Indian Law. He completed his undergraduate degree from University of Utah College of Social Work. And he and his two sons are members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

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