Published on : May 19, 2025
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is pleased to announce that Matt Hooper will join the organization as the new Vice President for Communications and Membership. In this role, Hooper will be responsible for protecting, promoting, and expanding CSWE’s brand, reputation, and influence. He will also oversee CSWE’s growing membership program, ensuring that all CSWE members reap the myriad benefits of their investment in the organization.
"Matt brings a fresh perspective to CSWE based on his extensive experience in communications and nonprofit management," said Dr. Halaevalu F. Vakalahi, President and CEO of CSWE. "There is no better time for our organization to invest new energy and ideas into both our brand and our membership program. I am confident that Matt will help us achieve new levels of excellence, engagement, and reach as he has done for other mission-driven organizations in the past."
Hooper was serving as the Vice President of Communications at Freedom House, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting and expanding democracy and human rights worldwide. In multiple roles, Hooper led strategy and implementation for the organization's websites, social media channels, graphic design, and publishing. He served in a similar capacity for consulting firms based in Dallas, TX: Cyber Defense Labs, Saxony Partners, and Pereview Software. Additionally, Hooper spent 7 years with the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, where he was recognized as a top performer in communications management and fundraising.
“It is both a great privilege and a great responsibility to step into this role at CSWE,” Hooper said. “For more than 70 years, CSWE members have relied on us for the resources they need to promote health, well-being, and justice for all people through social work. Our goal is not just to continue this effort, but to expand it. We want to be the first place that practitioners, educators, and students go for information, resources, and support.”
A native of Birmingham, AL, Hooper graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism and political science. He's an avid reader and runner, and he’s a regular at several coffee shops in Northern Virginia. Locally, he serves in a variety of volunteer roles at Christ Church Alexandria.
Founded in 1952, CSWE is the national association representing social work education in the United States. Its members include more than 900 accredited baccalaureate and master’s degree social work programs and their affiliated social work educators, students, and staff, as well as practitioners and agencies dedicated to advancing quality social work education. Through its many initiatives, activities, and centers, CSWE supports quality social work education and provides opportunities for leadership and professional development so that social workers are empowered to play a central role in achieving the profession’s goals of social and economic justice. CSWE’s Board of Accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States and its territories.
For more information about the Council on Social Work Education and its mission, please visit www.cswe.org.