Episode 14 highlights the multifaceted career of Renika Atkins, a Master of Social Work, Epic Principal Trainer, Nonprofit Director and Consultant, and a foster care advocate. Renika received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Texas Woman’s University and her Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on Community and Administrative Practice from The University of Texas at Arlington. For her daily 9-5 job, Renika works in healthcare IT as an Epic Principal Trainer. As an Epic...

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 13 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Amanda L. Sargent, MSW and Future Readiness Macro Social Work Practitioner. Amanda has a diverse career in macro social work that really highlights all that macro social workers are capable of! Amanda earned a Bachelor of Arts in African-American-Black Studies and Education from The University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of...

Join us for episode 12 of the Social Work Amplified podcast where we will hear from Sarah Crockett, MSW and Director of Public Policy at Texas CASA, one of the largest volunteer organizations in Texas seeking to advocate in court for children in the foster care system. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Northwest Nazarene University and her graduate degree in Social Work, concentrating in Social Policy and Program Evaluation, from the...

Join us for episode 11 of the Social Work Amplified podcast, where we will hear from Mary Beth Kopsovich, LMSW & Program Director at The Family Place, a Dallas-based organization seeking to empower victims of family violence, while working to end it through community engagement and advocacy. Mary Beth is a Licensed Master Social Worker and the Program Director at The Family Place. After graduating with her undergraduate degree in women’s studies, she started working at a women’s shelter...

Leon Theodore joins us for episode 10 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast. Leon is the Dallas County Project Director at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization out of Austin, Texas, seeking to "advances solutions and builds coalitions to end mass incarceration and foster safer Texas communities". You can read more about their mission and vision at texascje.org/about-tcje. According to Texas Center for Justice and Equity, Leon "has been active in the...

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 9 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Renae Perry, LMSW and Chief Operating Officer from The Senior Source. Renae wasn't originally planning to become a social worker. It was only after taking an Intro to Social Work elective in college that she decided to shift gears and pursue a degree in social work. Renae graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work from Howard Payne University and...

Join us for episode 8 of the Social Work Amplified podcast where we will hear from Kristina Whiton-O’Brien, MSW, from Vot-ER! Like many other macro social workers, Kristina started her career in micro social work, but after being exposed to different aspects of macro social work, she found it to be exhilarating and really started to learn the importance of social policy and the macro environment. She now works with Vot-ER to move forward the idea that all health professionals, social workers...

Macro social workers work in all different types of settings! Join us for episode 7 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to hear from Briana Gordley, MSSW, who works as a policy analyst in the Fair Financial Services Department of Texas Appleseed. Briana Gordley supports Texas Appleseed’s Fair Financial Services Project as a policy analyst, working to advocate for consumer protection, regulation, and reform in the areas of payday and auto title lending and abusive financial practices for...

Kerrie is a Licensed Master Social Worker and is the CPS Research and Policy Analyst for TexProtects. During the interview, Kerrie describes her background in social work practice, expressing her passion for advocating for Texas’ most vulnerable youth. She worked directly with children in the foster care system for 8 years; researched restorative justice practices to divert youth from the juvenile justice system; served as a policy analyst in the Texas Senate. She is now advocating for...

With a background in government and politics, Greg Hansch, had no intentions of becoming a social worker. But as he was considering getting an advanced degree, it was his long standing curiosity about empowering people to realize their goals that propelled him toward the profession of macro social work. Greg Hansch joins us for episode 5 of the Social Work Amplified Podcast to discuss his educational background in politics, his passion for public policy and advocacy, and how his advanced...

Macro social work is all about advocacy and community organizing! Alán M. De León joins us for episode 4 of the podcast to discuss his work within MOVE Texas. MOVE Texas is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization building power in underrepresented youth communities in Texas through civic education, leadership development, and issue advocacy. Alán works as the Harris County Advocacy Organizer, building coalitions with community members and other advocacy organizations that seek to...

Advocacy organizations make huge impacts in the social policy arena. Episode 3 of the podcast features Molly Broadway, MSW, who works at Disability Rights Texas as a HAVA Trainer and Technical Specialist focusing on voting rights. Molly received her Masters Degree in Social Work from Texas State University.  She works with Disability Rights Texas as the Training and Technical Support Specialist for Voting Rights.  This role allows her to travel all across the state to provide voting rights...

Did you know that there are social work lobbyists in state legislatures across the country? The second episode of SPEAK’s podcast, Social Work Amplified, features Alison Mohr Boleware, LMSW, who is the Government Relations Director at the National Association of Social Workers - Texas Chapter. Alison Mohr Boleware, LMSW, joins us to discuss her position as the Government Relations Director at National Association of Social Workers -Texas Chapter. She most recently worked as a Health Policy...

Do you ever wonder what it looks like to work in the legislature as a social worker? Bethany Gutierrez joins us to discusses her social work background, her current role as the District Director for the Texas State Representative Diego Bernal, and her thoughts on social work and politics. Bethany is a Latina, Cisgender, Social Worker (MSW) (May 2020), member of the NASW Human Rights Committee, a 2019 Archer Fellow almna, 2018 AmeriCorps VISTA alumna, and a first generation college graduate...