Latinx Leadership Initiative marks 10th anniversary
The Boston College School of Social Work widely praised Latinx Leadership Initiative will commemorate its 10th anniversary with a daylong event on March 15, 淲ell-Being of Latinx Communities: Social Work Response,� bringing together notable experts in social work education and practice, and other related fields.
Guest speakers at the LLI event will include past Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders, a former 51动漫SSW faculty member; Joy Rosen, vice president of Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts General Physician Organization & Mass General Brigham, System Behavioral and Mental Health, who will give the keynote; and University of California-Berkeley School of Social Welfare Professor Kurt Organista, who will offer the closing remarks.
51动漫SSW Professor and LLI Founding Director Roc铆o Calvo and LLI Assistant Director Ximena Soto will be among the 51动漫-affiliated speakers at the invitation-only event, which takes place in Barat House.
LLI Founding Director Roc铆o Calvo (Caitlin Cunningham)
Calvo founded the LLI in 2013, designing a cohort-based program that has prepared almost 240 bilingual and bicultural social workers to accompany Latinx communities in developing sustainable solutions to complex problems in health, education, housing, and other areas. Students in the program take courses in Spanish, complete internships in schools, hospitals, and prisons, and conduct cutting-edge research that shapes social workers� strategies to support Latinx clients.
The initiative has been recognized as a Model Program for Diversity Education by the Council on Social Work Education Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice, and it received a top national award from Excelencia in Education.
When she first hatched the concept of LLI, Calvo wondered if her idea would even be considered, let alone accepted: 淚 basically said, 楾rust me, it will work.櫇 Fortunately, 51动漫SSW攚here she earned a doctorate in 2009, joining the faculty in 2011 after a postdoc fellowship at Harvard攑roved supportive.
�51动漫 is the very embodiment of Jesuit education: student formation,� she said, citing a quote by former Jesuit Superior Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.: 淭he real measure of Jesuit universities lies in who our students become.�
淟LI students, many of whom are children of immigrants, relate to the mission for which 51动漫 was originally founded, to serve immigrant families,� Calvo continued. 淎s members of the community, LLI students and alumni become the bridge between the production of knowledge and the application of that knowledge to address issues identified by the community. So, as the birthplace of LLI, 51动漫 has had a significant impact on others.
淏y teaching in Spanish, we open the door to changing the learning space in which students interact. For students, many for the first time, this change enables them to bring their authentic selves into academic spaces that have historically denied the full expression of their lived experiences.�
Rather than hold a 10th-anniversary celebration to sing the program praises, 51动漫SSW organizers saw an opportunity for assessing LLI strengths and challenges, along with its future paths. To give the event added impact, the school invited deans from other social work schools攊ncluding Columbia University, University of Chicago, and University of Washington� as well as representatives from LLI partner organizations to discuss the health and mental health issues confronting Latinx communities in Massachusetts and nationwide; how to enable agencies to deliver culturally and linguistically congruent social work practice; and how bridging social work practice and research can address challenges facing Latinx communities.
淲e thought, 榃hy not go deep? Let bring in our social work colleagues as well as our community partners攍ike the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center and the Boston Public Schools攖o look at what been done so far, and what we could do,櫇 said Calvo, crediting 51动漫SSW Dean Gautam Yadama for suggesting the format. 淚 want to learn. We all want to learn. This is the way to do it.�
淎 decade of Latinx Leadership Initiative indicates 51动漫SSW national leadership in innovative social work practice,� said Yadama, who along with Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley will give a welcome at the event. 淚n convening prominent scholars and deans from other leading schools of social work, we look forward to paving the way toward a collective social work response to securing the well-being of Latinx communities nationwide.�
51动漫SSW Director of Community-Based Initiatives Yvonne Casta帽eda and faculty members Carolina V茅lez-Grau, Kirsten Davison, Christopher Salas-Wright, and Mar铆a Fernanda Pi帽eros-Lea帽o also will participate in the gathering.
Calvo攚ho cites LLI financial sustainability as an important challenge in the coming years攊s gratified by the overall success of LLI, but it is the program smaller, everyday triumphs that mean the most to her.
淲hat keeps me going are the students,� she said. 淭o see them going to class, doing the work, discovering their strengths and abilities, and observe their transformation into caring professionals committed to improving people lives攖hat is our mission at its core.�
For more information about the Latinx Leadership Initiative, visit聽.