8:15 - 9:00 am          

Registration (Coffee/Tea & Breakfast)

9:00  - 9:15 am

Welcome - NASW Virginia  Executive Director, Debra Riggs and 

           NASW-VA Legislative Chair, Juanita Thornton, MSW

9:15  - 9:30am

Skills for the Hill - Senator McClellan

9:30  - 11:35 am

Capitol Visit
Legislative Visits
Committee Meetings*

11:35  - 12:30

Gallery Viewing

12:00  - 1:15 pm

Lunch - Boxed lunches available (please indicate dietary restrictions during registration)
Reflections - Legislative Chair, Juanita Thornton, MSW, 
                           Legislative Committee Member, Susan Gardner, MSW
                           Student Ambassador, Tangela Francis, Norfolk State University
 

1:15  - 1:30 pm

           Jaime Hoyle, JD, Executive Director, VA Board of Social Work

1:30  - 2:00 pm

Senator Jennifer McClellan, elected to the Virginia House of Delegates from the 71st District in 2005. She serves on the House Commerce & Labor, Courts of Justice, and Education Committees. She serves as Chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission, and Co-Chair of the Fire/EMS Caucus.  She also serves as a member of the Virginia Crime Commission (Executive Committee), the Virginia Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and as Vice Chair of Outreach for the House Democratic Caucus. Recently, Senator McClellan was elected in a special election as a Senator. She will be replaced as a Delegate within the General Assembly.

Juanita Thornton, MSW, serves as the Legislative Chairperson of the NASWVA Legislative Committee. The association legislative committee is composed of members of the chapter. Their charge is to represent members in advocating for policy that affects the practice of Social Work within the Commonwealth, as well as Social Justice Issues that impact the consumers served.  Ms. Thornton is a longtime advocate for those with Brain Injury. She currently is employed by Carillion Health Systems as a Healthcare Social Worker. In addition, Ms. Thornton serves in a leadership position with a non-profit organization, serving those with TBI. Ms. Thornton has many years of experience working as an advocate in the commonwealth. She has also worked on many political campaigns as a volunteer, including but not limited to the Obama Presidential Election in 2012.

Mira Signer joined NAMI Virginia as the Executive Director in July 2007. Along with public policy, grassroots advocacy, program development, and nonprofit expertise, Mira brings her personal experiences, challenges, and lessons learned of friends and loved ones with mental illness, which is part of her motivation to reduce stigma of mental illness and improve Virginia’s mental health system. In her role as Executive Director, Mira provides direction and leadership toward the achievement of NAMI Virginia’s mission and philosophy. Mira received her Master’s in Social Work-Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from VCU. In 2011 Ms. Signer was recognized as one of Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40. Mira received her undergraduate degree from James Madison University where she was a varsity student-athlete and active in JMU’s Community Service-Learning program. Mira is originally from Arlington, Virginia.

Jamie Hoyle, JD, is currently the Executive Director of the Virginia Board of Social Work. The Virginia Board regulates and oversees all social work licensees in the State of Virginia. She previously worked at the Joint Commission on Health Care and Virginia state crime commission. Immediately preceding becoming Executive Director for the Virginia Board of Social Work, she was the Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Health professionals, which is the umbrella agency for all licensed health and allied health professionals within the Commonwealth. 

Susan Gardner, MSW, is a member of the NASW-VA Legislative Committee.  A recent graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work, Susan is working for a nonprofit agency in the Richmond area, as well as working on her LCSW.  Susan is very interested in policy and the affect that policy has on the practice of social work, as well as the clients in which she serves.  Susan also serves as a Delegate to the National Association of Social Workers Delegate Assembly. This delegation is the policy making authority of NASW. Delegates serve to author policy and position statements for the entire organization. The result of this manual is Social Work Speaks".

Tangela Francis is a second year MSW student at Norfolk State University. Tangela’s commitment to her education has led her to leadership roles in her graduate studies program at Norfolk Sate. Tangela currently holds the Vice President position in her graduate program organization (MSW-GO). Tangela currently holds one of the NASW-VA student ambassador positions representing her University . Tangela is currently a member of Alpha Delta Mu Zeta chapter at Norfolk State University. She is also a newly inducted member to the Golden Key International Hour society. Tangela  would like to pursue a career in social justice and advocacy  at the Macro level upon receiving her degree in May.

Margaret Marr Bauman, MSW, LCSW, LICSW, has been a psychotherapist for over two decades and continues to be in awe of the courage it takes to face the challenge of changing from the "self" we have always known to the mysterious unknown "self" yearning to emerge. Having received a BA from Rutgers University and an MSW from Rutgers University School of Social Work, she has enjoyed more than twenty-five years of clinical practice integrating insight oriented psychotherapy, family systems and attachment theory, short term problem oriented counseling, employee assistance evaluation, management consultation, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and addiction counseling into custom-designed approaches for individuals, couples, families, groups and organizations. Her training also includes the Family Therapy Training Program of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, The Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies, and training and supervision for advanced psychopathology of trauma. Her specific areas of interest are life transitions, midlife turbulence as it affects relationships, and the growth of the person in all dimensions, most specifically in the realm of developing insight into oneself.

*This is your time to make appointments in advance to meet with your legislators.