2014 NASW Delegate Assembly: Giving North Carolina a National Voice
NASW-NC Delegate Assembly Members Kelley Ryan, Sonyia Richardson, Elaine Weircioch, Jessica Holton, and Sabrina Southern
By Sonyia Richardson, MSW, LCSW; NASW-NC Delegate
It has been an absolute pleasure serving as a delegate for the NASW-North Carolina chapter and I am thankful for the opportunity to represent peers within the state of North Carolina. The delegate experience has been intriguing, stimulating and rewarding. When I committed to serve as a delegate for North Carolina members, it was important to represent members in various areas and give a national voice through a variety of platforms. As your delegate, I served in the following capacity during this term:
Policy Review – Role of Government, Social Policy and Social Work Policy Review – Cultural and Linguistic Competence in the Social Work Profession Emerging Issues Forum – Future Role and Structure of NASW: its role in advocating for equity and fairness in society Voting on Policy Statement Revisions Participation in National Delegate Meeting August 2, 2014.
Through our work with the delegate assembly, we have given a voice to policies regarding cultural competency and social welfare issues. We have participated in forums where we could express the emerging and pressing issues within our profession to the national office. Lastly, we voted during the national meeting to not dissolve the Delegate Assembly at this time until we found a more viable and efficient way to ensure the voice of the membership was heard and considered.
2014 NASW-NC Delegate Assembly Members voting on NASW policies.
I strongly encourage members to continue to communicate your needs with the state chapter office as well as your delegates. We are committed to ensuring members are delighted with their experience with NASW and we desire to serve our members to the best of our ability.
The Delegate Assembly is the representative, decision-making body – comprised of 277 elected delegates – through which NASW members set broad organizational policy, establish program priorities, and develop a collective stance on public and professional issues. Article V of the National Bylaws addresses Delegate Assembly. The Delegate Assembly meets once every three years. As stated in the National Bylaws, “The membership shall act through the Delegate Assembly in all matters except as otherwise provided in the Bylaws.”
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