About Voting IS Social Work
Founded in 2015, the National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign, also known as Voting is Social Work (VISW), seeks to integrate nonpartisan voter registration, education, and outreach into social work education and practice.
There is a strong correlation between voter participation and measures of health and well-being. Studies show that communities that vote in higher rates receive more attention and more resources from elected officials at the federal, state, and local level. Voting is a basic human right and often overlooked strategy for improving individual and community outcomes.
The Campaign believes that social work is uniquely positioned to transform and strengthen our democracy by supporting people to register, giving them information about where, when, and how to vote, and most importantly, sharing why their vote matters to them and their community.
Our work includes:
- Providing training and resources for faculty, schools, and organizations
- Collaborating with CSWE, NASW, and other professional associations to ensure that social workers can fulfill social work's commitment to a more just and equitable society
- Sharing easy strategies for social workers and others to engage voters
Leadership Team
Terry Mizrahi, Co-Chair
Professor Emerita
Silberman School of Social Work
Hunter College, City University of New York
Mimi Abramovitz, Co-Chair
Professor Emerita
Silberman School of Social Work
Hunter College, City University of New York
Tanya Rhodes Smith, Co-chair
Director
Nancy A Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work
University of Connecticut School of Social Work
In Memory
Gena Gunn McClendon
The late Gena Gunn McClendon, Ph.D., was director of Community Engagement at the Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis Missouri, director of the Voter Access and Engagement Initiative, and co-director of the Financial Capability and Asset Building Initiative. A tireless voting rights advocate, her enduring work advanced strategies to end voter suppression, increase civic participation by marginalized populations, and promote an inclusive democracy.
Website Advisory Committee
Jessica Black, MSW
UConn SSW and Humphreys Institute Alumni
Emmeline Franklin
Communications and Programming Coordinator
Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work
Jessica J. Mitchell, LMSW, MA
Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare
Stony Brook University, NY
Allysha Bryant, LMSW
Program Director, NY Connects
Brooklyn, NY
Shannon R. Lane, LMSW, PhD
Assistant Professor, Wurzweiler School of Social Work
Yeshiva University, NY
Adelaide K. Sandler, PhD
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Marist College, NY
Miriam Edelman, MS
Public Policy Professional and Researcher
Washington, D.C.
Melissa McCardle, PhD, LCSW
Professor, Department of Social Work
Molloy University, NY
Sabrina W. Tyuse, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Saint Louis University, MO
VISW is part of the UConn School of Social Work and the Nancy A. Humphrey’s Institute for Political Social Work.