Dr. Rocío Calvo

The Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award is presented to Rocío Calvo. Recognized as a leading scholar in the field of immigration and social welfare, Dr. Rocío Calvo has developed a body of work on the role of social service provision in the integration of immigrants that has become a model of positive disruption in social work. Dr. Calvo’s observation that Latinx immigrants value the quality of their interactions with providers of services as much as the specific services they receive led to the creation of the Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI) in 2013. The LLI reimagines social work education, research, and practice by positioning the cultural assets of Latinx populations at the center of social work practice and scholarship. Since its foundation, the LLI has prepared more than 100 bilingual and bicultural MSW students and five doctoral candidates to work with Latinx communities toward sustainable solutions for complex problems. Dr. Calvo's work with the LLI has been supported by the Spencer Foundation.

Dr. Calvo serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee of Boston College, on the Autism Commission of Massachusetts, and on the Advisory Committee of the CSWE Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice. She is also the national co-leader of the Grand Challenge for Social Work “Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice” of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, and president of the Association of Latina/Latino Social Work Educators. Awards for her work include the Mentor of the Year from the Boston College School of Social Work and a Mentoring Award from the CSWE Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education. Dr. Calvo also has been recognized as an influential St. Peter’s Woman by St. Peter’s College at Oxford University.