La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA

Rosemary is a social worker committed to radical social change. She is committed to working with others to build a society based on equity, community, and solidarity. She has worked in Chile and Bolivia doing human rights work. In the US, she has worked on human rights issues, including immigrants’ human rights, economic human rights, an end to family policing, and social policy. She is also a social work educator at La Salle University.

upEND Movement

Southwest/Texas

Alan began his career as a social worker in the family policing system, where he worked as an investigative caseworker and administrator. Today, his work focuses on ending the harm caused by this system. In 2020, he helped create and launch the upEND movement, a collaborative effort dedicated to abolishing the family policing system and building alternatives focused on healing and liberation. He is also the co-founder and co-facilitator of Toward Liberation, an abolitionist reading and study group. 

Philadelphia, PA

Len has wanted to be a social worker ever since she discovered that social work was something you could do. She started her work by volunteering with a local domestic violence prevention organization, and she learned about the importance of an empowerment and client-centered focus in her social work practice. She has worked to embody those values. Since then, she has worked in a nursing home setting, at a food pantry in a rural Appalachian community, as a field organizer for a political campaign, at a street homelessness-prevention organization, and, most recently, as an advocate for older adults. She considers herself a lifelong learner, an avid reader, and a lover of square dancing and any wildflowers in bloom. You can also usually find her participating in some kind of local action, going on an adventure by train with her fiancé, Ben, or playing with her feline fur babies, Jim and Pam. 

Salem State University

Salem, MA

Melanie entered the world of organizing over 18 years ago, getting her start as a student leader of an “underground” Gay-Straight Alliance at a small Christian college. That experience navigating the complexity, vulnerability, and power of grassroots organizing really shaped her dedication to social change. This passion led her into the world of Macro social work. Over the years, she has worked with a wide range of groups and organizations, taking on efforts that push for programmatic and policy change. These days, as a professor and a parent, her focus is on K-12 and higher education. She has been working alongside key stakeholders and community members to reimagine how educational systems can serve as spaces for liberation.

Salem State University

Northeast/Massachusetts

Wes is a current MSW student at Salem State University, but their interest in activism and organizing began even before their graduate journey. Throughout the years, they have participated in voter registration initiatives, engaged in non-profit work, and have interned at the congressional level. Their interest in politics bloomed into a passion for social work and a desire to push for institutional change after seeing where current systems of power fall short of addressing inequities.