Melanie Sonsteng-Person (she/her)
Steering Committee Manager
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 shaped her dedication to social change and led her into the world of Macro social work. Over the years, she has worked with a wide range of 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, working alongside key stakeholders to reimagine how educational systems can serve as spaces for liberation.
Rosemary A Barbera (she/her)
Community Liaison
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.
Alicia Mendez (she/her)
Community Care Coordinator + Student Specialist
Boston, MA
Alicia is a Mexicana-Americana whose organizing experience began at home following in the footsteps of her mom. She is a proud social worker who strives to hold the profession to its ethical standards through advocacy, research, and teaching. Outside of social work and academia, she has organized with Brown Girls Climb to build community for women and gender-expansive people of color to connect and engage with the outdoors as an act of resistance and joy. Next, she hopes to merge her passion for making ice cream with advocacy in future endeavors.
Steve Burghardt (he/him)
Steering Committee
Northeast/NY
Steve Burghardt is professor emeritus at the Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, CUNY, where he taught courses in community organizing, social policy, political economy, and anti-oppression practice. He began organizing at 17 and remains involved in racial equity and anti-ICE campaigns. Author of eleven books, most recently The End of Social Work: A Defense of the Social Worker in Times of Transformation & Organizing in the New Gilded Age; Harsh Truths and Humble Lessons on the Road to Radical Hope.
Alan Dettlaff (he/him)
Website Manager
Houston, TX
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.
Helena Gallant (she/her)
Northeast Regional Leader
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. 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, and, most recently, as an advocate for older adults.
Aimee Rodrigue (she/her)
SWAC Intern
Northeast
Aimee is a current MSW student at Bridgewater State University and aims to become an abolitionist social worker. Her commitment to social work began with a degree in psychology and a drive for social justice. She is committed to becoming an agent of change through local organizing and community building. She is active with mutual aid networks and resource sharing groups. She firmly believes that education, community, and imagination are the pathways to liberation.
Wes Welch (they/them)
Communications Manager
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.