NASW National Conference Brings Hundreds of Social Workers to Washington to Fight for Human Rights and the Future of Their Profession

WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) will hold its National Conference June 10-13 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., drawing social workers from across the country at a moment when their profession is under direct federal attack.

"The theme of this year's conference is 'Beyond the Breaking Point: Connection Through Purpose and Power,'" NASW CEO Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C, said. "This administration has definitely taken our society beyond the breaking point, with its significant cuts to human services and its attacks on reproductive rights, immigrants, people of color, transgender people and voting rights."

"Our conference will offer social workers the inspiration they need to keep using their expertise, power and purpose to bring our nation together in these divisive times and defend the rights of all," Estreet said. "And we will talk about how AI is already making major inroads into our profession and how social workers should handle that from a professional and ethical perspective."

The conference opens the morning of June 10 with a Day on the Hill; an advocacy training and Capitol visit that will send hundreds of social workers directly to Congress to lobby on legislation affecting both the profession and the people social workers serve daily. It's a fitting start. The conference is being held in Washington precisely because the policy fights are happening here.

Other highlights of the conference:'

• Keynote speeches by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, one of our nation's most influential African American academic and best-selling authors; Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a leading social justice organization; and incoming NASW President Karen Bullock, PhD, LICSW.
• A CEO Speaker Series from NASW CEO Dr. Anthony Estreet on Healing While Black: From Survival to Liberation for Black Men and Boys and Interrupting Violence, Investing in Healing: The Role of Social Work in Community Safety.
• Plenary sessions on The State of Social Work: Crisis, Opportunity, and the Future of the Profession; AI, Tech, and the Future of Mental Health: Disruption or Transformation?; Beyond Silos: Building Coalitions that Actually Shift Power; The Work of Democracy: Civic Participation, Policy Power, and the Dignity of Every Person; The Future of Social Work: From Research to Action; and DEIA Under Fire: The Role of Social Work in Defending Equity.
• Highlights of a new study on artificial intelligence that explores surprising workforce trends as it relates to the social work profession.
• An NASW Film Screening featuring the film "Il Mio Posto a Tavola - My Place at the Table," from social workers and filmmakers Santo Marabello, DSW, MBA and Tracy Schott, MSW.

The backdrop to all of it is serious. The Trump Administration's Department of Education has issued a rule that removes social work from professional degrees, a change that cuts student loan limits for social work students by half. Clinical social workers are among the largest groups of mental health providers in the United States, and Estreet has been direct about what that rule will mean in practice: it will shrink the social work workforce at the precise moment the country is struggling with a deepening mental health crisis.

The conference is designed to do more than inform. It's meant to send social workers back to their communities ready to act.

"There is an old saying that iron sharpens iron," Estreet said. "This conference will be an opportunity for social workers to come together and re-energize, visit the halls of Congress to lobby for issues important to us, and leave ready to continue to fight the good fight:"