Commission and Council Awards
Every year CSWE commissions and councils honor and celebrate social work scholars, students, and educators for their contributions to social work and social work education.
CSWE membership is an eligibility requirement for all commission and council awards. To check your membership status, or link your membership your social work program, visit CSWE Membership and click Link to Program/Join CSWE.
Awardees for 2024 are listed below.
Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans People of Color (2-QTPOC) Social Work Impact Award
The Council on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (CSOGIE) and the Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity (CRECD) present the Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans People of Color (2-QTPOC) Award. This award recognizes and honors an outstanding midcareer or senior social work scholar who has made significant and outstanding contributions to the field of social work through research or education in the topical areas that affect two-spirit, queer, and trans people of color (2-QTPOC) communities. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
No Awardee for 2024
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Scholarship (SOGIE) Award
Presented by the Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (CSOGIE), this award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; the individual and systemic issues associated with these topics; the development of social work curriculum materials and faculty growth opportunities relevant to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; and the experiences of individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and/or two-spirit. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Award Winners:
Vern Harner, PhD
Vern Harner is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at UW-Tacoma. As a community-embedded activist, organizer, and scholar, their work aims to amplify existing strengths within trans and multiply marginalized communities. Dr. Harner’s current work focuses on intracommunity support, engagement with social and health services, as well as quality of life of trans communities.
Boi Casillas, MSW, CNA
Boi is a QTPOC person from the midwest of the United States. They center relational ways of knowing in their work and research. Cease fire now.
Jess Chrivoli, MSW
Jess Chrivoli is a community organizer, multidisciplinary artist, consultant, and facilitator. They received their MSW with a specialization in Community-Centered Integrative Practice from the University of Washington, where they now teach as an adjunct instructor on disability and anti-ableist practice. Jess is passionate about advancing liberation and thrivance for and with their Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, Disabled, Neurodivergent, and d/Deaf communities.
Erin Harrop, PhD, LICSW
Erin Harrop (they/them), LICSW, PhD is an assistant professor at University of Denver and a licensed medical social worker. Erin’s research focuses on eating disorders, weight stigma, and inclusive healthcare. Erin centers marginalized populations (e.g., queer, trans, higher weight, lower SES, BIPOC communities), incorporating mixed methods, arts-based, and lived experience research.
Megan Moore, PhD, MSW
Megan Moore, PhD, MSW is Sidney Miller Endowed Associate Professor in Direct Practice in the School of Social Work and Interim Director at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington. She is a clinical social worker with a background in Emergency Department social work, Critical Care, and outpatient mental health services for victims of violent crime and other trauma.
Amaranta Lopez Olivares, MSW, LSWAIC
Amaranta (they/she) is a Master of Social Work graduate from University of Washington. They are currently a Social Worker at Seattle Children’s Hospital. They also have experience doing community based research with Seattle Foundation, mentoring undergraduate students at UW, and providing therapy to youth in community and school settings.They are overall interested in what wellness looks like and can look like for people who face oppression and abuse.
Community Partnership Action Award
Presented by Commission for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice, this award honors the contributions of schools and departments of social work and social work students (BSW, MSW, PhD, or DSW) in advancing community partnership action. A community is broadly defined as a self-organized network of people with a common agenda, cause, or interest and is not limited by physical location. An invitation to apply is extended to all CSWE-accredited social work programs and social work students. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Program Award Winner:
Utah State University's Transforming Communities Institute
Utah State University’s Transforming Communities Institute (TCI), housed in the USU Department of Social Work, brings Utahns together to build knowledge and co-create solutions for social issues that matter to their communities. Through a theory of change lens, TCI activities surround community-engaged assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation to contribute to immediate and long-term sustainable changes in communities and organizations.
CORSW Community Impact Award
Presented by Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW), this award recognizes community praxis that is shaped through the process of social work education and exemplifies the values of feminist leadership models in social work education. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Award Winner:
Dr. Laquetta Solomon
Central to Dr. Solomon's mission is Elev8ted Perspectives Consultation Services, her private mental health practice, specializing in addressing mental health disorders and emotional issues that impede growth. Through pioneering mentoring programs like the Elev8ted Vizionaries Women Empowerment Program (Ages 25 and above ) and Elev8ted Vizionettes, (Ages 18-25), she empowers women to navigate life's challenges with confidence. Beyond the clinic, Dr. Solomon's dedication extends to the establishment of ChoGen, a nonprofit committed to breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and fostering resilience in multicultural communities.
CORSW Feminist Manuscript Award
Presented by the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW), The CORSW Feminist Manuscript Award is a awarded to a submitted Annual Program Meeting (APM) proposal that draws upon feminist and womanist theory, research methods, and/or educational and practice perspectives are welcome. With a clear focus and centering of the feminisms, including Womanist and Xicanism perspectives, topics may include innovative and effective social work practices and educational models, histories of women in social work practice and education, application of feminist theories and methods to diverse populations, and more. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Award Winners:
Kenyette S. Garrett, LCSWKenyette Garrett, LCSW, is a third-year PhD student at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. Her research is centered on investigating the experiences of Black students in musical environments such as classrooms, non-profit organizations, and ensembles through a social justice lens.
Kate M. Chaffin, DSW
Dr. Chaffin is the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development and Professor of Practice at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Social Work. Her research area is best practices in online education and feminist pedagogy, mentorship, and leadership. She served two terms on the Women's Council in which she also served as the co-chair.
Chesney Ward, PhD, MSW, LCSW
Chesney Jones Ward is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Utah State University and a fully licensed clinical social worker in Utah and Tennessee. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee's College of Social Work. Chesney's scholarship is dedicated to reducing healthcare disparities for minority populations with a focus on end-of-life and promoting successful aging in underrepresented communities.
CORSW Student Feminist Manuscript Award
Presented by the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW), The CORSW Student Feminist Manuscript Award will be given to an accepted Annual Program Meeting (APM) proposal (paper, poster, or roundtable) that is written by a BSW and/or a MSW student as the lead author (whether written and submitted solo or as part of a team). The proposal must show that the work advances feminist knowledge and is written by a scholar who shows an understanding of and dedication to the feminisms as it pertains to social work theory, research, practice, policy, and education. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
No Awardee for 2024
CORSW Feminist Scholar Award
Presented by the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW), The CORSW Feminist Scholar Award annually honors a feminist scholar and a feminist manuscript awardee who have advanced feminist knowledge as it pertains to social work theory, research, practice, policy, and education. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Award Winner:
Courtney Cronley, PhD, MSW
Dr. Cronley is Professor in the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Social Work. She investigates how the built environment contributes to social injustices and health disparities and how investments in housing and transportation infrastructure can increase access to opportunities and promote well-being, with a focus on women and children. Dr. Cronley brings a women-centered focus to all aspects of her work from scholarship to teaching to service.
CORSW Violence Against Women and Children Manuscript Award
Presented by the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW), the purpose of the Violence Against Women and Children Manuscript Award is to recognize outstanding scholarship of early career social work educators who most advance feminist knowledge regarding violence against women and children. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
No Awardee for 2024
Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity (CRECD) Award
Presented by the Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity (CRECD), this award recognizes doctoral students and junior faculty members with outstanding scholarship in the areas of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity in social work education. Two awards will be given to doctoral students or junior faculty members (faculty members who have completed a doctorate within the last 7 years). View eligibility criteria and more information here.
PhD Student Award Winner:
Cheryl Aguilar, LICSW, LCSW
Cheryl Aguilar is a licensed independent clinical social worker specializing in work with Latinxs, immigrants, refugees and other BIPOC communities. She is the founder, director and therapist at the Hope Center for Wellness, a mental health practice focused on holistic healing. Currently, she is also Phd student at Smith College School for Social Work; a fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health Policy Research Scholars program and a fellow at American Psychological Association’s Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship program.
Disability Manuscript Award
Presented by the Council on Disability and Person With Disabilities (CDPD), this award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about disability; full participation of persons with disabilities; social, political, and economic issues related to disability and persons with disabilities; and social work education curriculum materials focused on disability and persons with disabilities. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Award Winners:
Aesha John, PhD, LMSW
Dr. Aesha John is an associate professor in the Department of Social Work at Texas Christian University (TCU). She earned her PhD in Human Environmental Sciences from Oklahoma State University. Her doctoral training in human development, combined with her decade- long practice with individuals with disabilities informs Dr. John’s scholarship and teaching. She teaches lifespan classes (HBSE 1 & 2) and her research focuses on well-being among individuals with disabilities and their families.
Jade Presnell, MS, LSW
Jade Presnell, MS, LSW is a licensed social worker with graduate degrees in psychology and social work. Jade has over a decade of clinical practice experience supporting persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in various capacities. She is currently a doctoral candidate and adjunct faculty at Indiana University School of Social Work where she engages in research and teaching with the aim of building more inclusive and equitable communities.
Partners in Advancing International Education (PIE) Awards (Individual, Organization, and Student)
Presented by the Commission on Global Social Work Education (CGSWE), these awards honor the contribution of social work faculty members, social work students (BSW, MSW, or PhD), and organizations as partners in advancing education for international social work. The PIE Awards are given in recognition of conceptual, curricular, and programmatic innovations in education for international social work. View eligibility criteria and more information here.
Individual Award Winner:
Professor Rebecca L. Thomas, PhD, MSWRebecca L. Thomas, Ph.D., is Professor at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Social Work, and Director of the Center for International Social Work Studies. She teaches in the Policy Practice Concentration and is the Chair of the focused area of International Social Work. She directs a joint academic program exchange between UConn and Yerevan State University in Armenia. Her current research and scholarship include issues related to forced migration including climate induced migration, social entrepreneurship, remittances, international development, poverty, and human rights. She has a well-established publication in these areas and is a reviewer for many academic social work and related journals.
Organization Award Winner:
Gold Coast Medical Foundation
Gold Coast Medical Foundation, GCMF was founded by two brothers, Dr. Kwaku and Kwabena Boakye, US-educated Ghanaian medical doctors who knew firsthand the devastating impact of inadequate medical care. This non-governmental organization is committed to advancing sustainable healthcare solutions. Recognizing the importance of collaboration—believing that "it takes a village"—GCMF partners with local agencies across various developing countries to improve health outcomes
Student Award Winner:
Elvia Y. Mata Ortega, IHM
My journey led me to immerse myself in education, believing fervently that it holds the key to a fairer society... Recently I embarked on a master’s in social work at the University of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, focusing on aiding migrants along the Mexican-United States border. Through it all, I have witnessed firsthand the anguish wrought by an unjust world, igniting within me an unwavering commitment to forging a brighter future for vulnerable children and their families.