Social Work Votes

Join us as we speak with Dwight Thomas, the Network Director of School Culture at Brooklyn Prospect Charter Schools, a diverse-by-design charter school network based in New York. What was it like to advocate for students and families during an unprecedented year in history? Reflect with Avery, Clara, and Dwight as we start this new academic year. 

Daniel Coley joins us for a special episode hosted by middle school students Remone, Siobhán, and Kaia. Daniel's experience serving under the minority leader in the state senate during the 2020 session of the Georgia General Assembly leads to further discussions around voter engagement, the recent run-off, and youth involvement in the political process. 

This week, Social Work Votes speaks with Austin Evers, the Executive Director of American Oversight. Acting as a non-partisan, nonprofit ethics watchdog, American Oversight utilizes public records to speak truth to power, advance accountability, and broaden access. Head to americanoversight.org for more information, and we highly recommend subscribing to the organization’s email list. 

About 21 million eligible voters in the United States do not have a photo ID. Having an ID is one just more marker separating the haves from the have-notes. Apart from the many states that have imposed voter ID laws, this lack of identification can also prevent people from signing a lease, obtaining health care and living life. As our guest Kat Calvin says, 99% of the 1% vote -- and 77% of the people she works for have never voted before. Kat is the Founder and Executive Director of Spread the Vote and the Co-Founder and CEO of the Project ID Action Fund. She works in communities to advocate for accessible laws and policies to help residents obtain their IDs. Hear about her work in the January Georgia run-off elections and how social work students can get involved. Note: This episode was recorded before the run-off elections in Georgia.

You can find a transcript of the episode here.Social Work Votes has the privilege to sit down with Yunhe Bai, co-leader of the Disability Awareness Caucus at Columbia School of Social Work, and DT Bruno, an alum of CSSW. We discuss the mission of the caucus at the school, important legislation for disability rights in the context of voting, and the shortcomings of civil rights for the disabled community. With the approach of new leadership in the White House, as well as many other positions within Congress, Yunhe and DT highlight the need for continual reflection and evaluation of how to ensure access for all voters. During our podcast, you will hear from two interpreters for Yunhe and DT.

Runoff elections in Georgia are approaching, as well as the end of the semester! Social Work Votes speaks with the CEO of a large organization, GALEO, Jerry Gonzalez as we talk about the importance of Latinx voters in Georgia as well as how things are looking in Georgia. Learn concrete ways to get involved in GA as well as what GALEO is up to now and in the future. GALEOSocial Work Votes

This week, Social Work Votes spoke with Andy Forrest, the Executive Director of Feel Good Voting, and initiative that combines behavioral science with social media entertainment to advance social justice and environmental sustainability. Check out this interesting podcast for more details on social-learning theory and the power of micro-influencers - for this election and for all elections to come. Don't forget -- Georgians will be voting for two runoff Senate races on January 5th!Per our show notes, Andy mentioned, "The 100 Million Project" and Avery mentioned the documentary, "Kiss the Ground." The 2020 elections are almost over. We are so thrilled to have you listen to our podcast during this unprecedented time. We all are thinking about our listeners this week... thank you for your support!

Our final podcast in advance of the 2020 election, and we're speaking with Paola Sanchez Valdez and Savannah Castaneda, two co-chairs of the CSSW Latinx Caucus. Join us as we delve into the personal and the political, and don't forget to VOTE.

Join Social Work Votes as we speak with co-leaders of Columbia School of Social Work's Aging Caucus, Chris Bowman and Caitlin Kay. Gearing up for the election, it is important to consider the impact of COVID-19 on the aging population, and how that may shift the tenor of typical election cycles.Email the Aging Caucus to connect with Caitlin, Chris, and their community at CSSW at agecaucus@gmail.com.

Social Work Votes podcast has a fantastic conversation coming up today with Dr. Darlyne Bailey, Shauntia White, and Qádriyyah Major, members of the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work, and we will also hear from Lorraine Major, Qádriyyah's grandmother. We’ll speak on voter suppression through the unique generational lens of these four Black women and hear from each woman about her perspective on this important issue, especially as we all are now 8 days away from one of the, if not the most, important elections of all of our generations. Note: This episode was recorded on 10/23/20.Resources mentioned in the Podcast: - Youth Advocate Programs- Y Social Work- Voting is Social Work- Social Work Votes Go Fund Me

In this episode, we speak with Tim Smith and Mac Heller, Executive Producers of the film “Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook.” We engage with the content of their film, and then expand outwards to the history of voter suppression, as well as best practices for voting amidst a pandemic. Join us for a thoughtful discussion on voting rights, voter suppression, and the realities of our contemporary voting climate. Whether or not you have seen “Rigged,” which we highly recommend you watch!, there’s lots to glean from Tim’s and Mac’s perspectives. Head to www.riggedthefilm.com to learn more. Find more info on Poll Watching with Sarah at https://vote.poorpeoplescampaign.org/#poll_monitor.

With under 40 days left until the election, we speak with the leadership team at Marywood University in Pennsylvania. As a partnered university to the Columbia University Social Work Votes campaign, we hear unique perspectives on living in a completely different environment for the election: a purple state. We discuss the difficulties and excitement with engaging undecided voters and how they have rapidly grown their campaign. The mail-in ballot application deadline for PA is October 27. Check out more info for PA voting here: https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx

We talk to Yasmín Campos-Mendez, a Columbia University graduate who has been dedicated to researching ways to end domestic violence. She currently works as a Forensic Social Worker in the Manhattan Criminal and Supreme Court at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES). Additionally- she is also a researcher for Futures Without Violence- which collaborates with The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (“NTF”) in Washington D.C. In this episode, we speak on barriers to voting for someone who may experience domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; perhaps more importantly, we discuss ways we can support someone to vote confidentially and safely and how we can advocate for policy changes to protect voters. Finally, we talk about how this conversation on voting safely might start in a clinical setting. National DV Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

We continue the conversations with two of the three co-chairs of the Social Work Votes Campaign - Tess and Danielle. In this episode, we talk about the pressure leading up the the 2020 federal election, thoughts about the campaign thus far, and what other feelings they have while doing this work.

In this episode, Sarah chats with Kai Durant, one of the alumni co-chairs of the Social Work Votes campaign. Here, we hear what Kai does for the campaign, as well as the other positions and roles she is in. We learn her thoughts on the campaign thus far and where she hopes the campaign will progress in the future. Finally, we ask Kai if she is hopeful of this coming election and beyond.

This week, we speak to economist Dr. Robert Hartley, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Columbia University. His recently published research, "Unleashing the Power of Poor and Low-Income Americans" describes how important it is for low-income voters to vote in an election. We speak generally about the Poor People's Campaign and Riverside Church, both which Rob is involved in. To find Rob's report we discuss in this episode, go here:https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/resource/power-of-poor-voters/. To sign up to the Call to Action at the end of the episode, head here: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/voting/

In this episode of Social Work Votes podcast, we interview Dean Leak from the Columbia School of Social Work. We speak on the possible involvements of field departments in efforts of voting and civic engagement and what that might look like. We look at the challenges and hopes field agencies, organizations, and the community might have about these efforts.

In this episode you will hear from Alicia Smith who recently obtained her Master of Social Work degree at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from CUNY York College. As a social worker and IGNITE Fellow, Alicia has been committed to empowering the next generation to become civically engaged. We will speak with Alicia on her launch into the macro social work field and IGNITE, her views on having more women to be involved politically, and how to mobilize your community at any level.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jonathan Singer, LCSW, an associate professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago, President of the American Association of Suicidology and coauthor of the 2015 Routledge text, Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner's Guide to Multi-level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention, and Postvention. Dr. Singer is the founder and host of the award-winning Social Work Podcast (www.socialworkpodcast.com), the first podcast by and for social workers. We share the ups and downs of technology and podcasting in the social work field, and we talk about the ethics of policy and politics in direct practice spaces.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Charles Lewis. Dr. Lewis has an impressive background as a political social worker, founding and directing the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy. He serves on the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work Leadership Board and is also a lecturer at CSSW. Dr. Lewis served as Deputy Chief of Staff for former Congressman Ed Towns. In this episode, Dr. Lewis helps us answer the question: “Why Social Workers in Politics?”

In this episode, we speak with Greta Carnes, who was recently the National Organizing Director for multiple presidential candidates in the past. Over the last ten years, Greta has worked on electoral campaigns at every level. We’ll cover what conversations about politics with other people will look like, especially with those who may not agree with us. Greta helps us answer the question: “What do I say?”

In this episode, the Social Work Votes team jumps in to a conversation with the 18th Dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work: Melissa Begg. We sit down (virtually) with Melissa to discuss how various communities are affected by voter suppression. We hear her thoughts on how the Social Work Votes campaign and the mission might be affected by the recent updates on CSSW's online format. We finish off by targeting various stakeholders within the social work community and discuss how we all can be engaged in the quest for voting equality.

In this episode of Social Work Votes, we speak to Mimi Abramovitz, a co-leader of the Voting is Social Work campaign. We head to where the campaign all started and ask whether Mimi had any push back for her initiative. We also chat about her recent research survey that examined attitudes on voter engagement and the extent of voter engagementactivity. Go to votingissocialwork.org for more information on how to get involved, and follow us on Twitter / Instagram at @socialworkvotes.

In the first episode of Social Work Votes, we discuss if social workers should be political and what that would look like. We’ll hear from Jaime Estades, Esq., lawyer and social worker from City University of New York, founder of Latino Leadership Institute, and policy advocate on the recent events in voting and what this means for us as social workers. He answers the question: what is our responsibility in politics? Even more, we discuss two important SCOTUS cases and the voter suppression that occurred in Georgia.