The Network for Social Work Management 4th Annual Forward Thinking Summit is happening virtually September 18-20, 2025.
This year’s theme, Roots & Wings: 40 Years Strong, Building Bridges to an Equitable Future, honors NSWM’s legacy while focusing on the work ahead: mobilizing leadership across sectors to advance justice, inclusion, and systemic change.
Just a few of the presentations:
Philip Hong – Transforming Impossible to Possible (TIP)
Robyn Golden, LCSW – Fireside Leadership Chat Social Work leadership Health Settings
Patricia Welch Saleeby, PhD – Expanding Our Impact – Social Work’s Role in Leading Health Care’s Future
Jackie Mondros – Co- Author, Organizing for Power and Empowerment: the Fight for Democracy
Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW – AI Tools for Executive Leadership
Dr. Karen Hopkins – Supervisors and Managers’ Experiences and Strategies in a Volatile Human Service Environment
Victor Manalo, Ph.D., MSW – Where Communities Lead the Way: A Framework for Driving Behavioral Health Equity
Daphne C. Watkins– Executive Coaching as Professional Development for Social Work Faculty
Nicki Sanders, MSW – Empowering Macro Practitioners Through Intentional Career Development and Leadership Identity
Becky Morales, LCSW-S, CSWM, LCSW – Successfully Supporting Your Development as a Supervisor
Eva Forde, MSSW 🌔 Forde, MSW – Scaling Social Work Influence through Entrepreneurial Frameworks
Douglas Smith Smith, MSSW – Leadership Lessons from a Prison Cell: Lived Experience in Recovery, Resilience, and Justice
Dr. Marina A. Badillo-Diaz, LCSW Baldillo Diaz – AI for Social Work Organizations: Strategic Planning and Policy Implementation
Becky S. Corbett, MSW, ACSW Corbett, ACSW – Leading ME with Intention
Patricia Huber-Villano, DSW, LCSW-R, CPRP, CSWM Huber-Villano – Leading with Intention: Mindfulness, Self-Awareness and Authenticity in Leadership
Brian Rosenbaum, MSW – Driving Equity in Volunteerism and Partnership-Building
Michael Gianotti, LMSW-IPR, ACSW Ethics and Social Work Leadership
Patrick Taylor, LCSW-The Macro Pipeline
This year’s Summit will also introduce a Social Work Health Leadership Track, as well as robust opportunities for engagement through Whova’s online communities and leadership boards.
Early Bird is $200 before September 10 at 12:59 – $60 for CEU’s
Nicki Sanders, MSW – Empowering Macro Practitioners Through Intentional Career Development and Leadership Identity
- Friday 9/19 | 11:30am CT: The Strength of Soft Success: Leading, Living, and Liberating Without Burnout
- Friday 9/19 | 1:00pm CT: Bridging the Gap: Leading Multi-Generational Teams with Equity and Intention
Participants may earn up to 51 continuing education credits (CEs) provided by NASW, including 15 synchronous/live hours and 35 asynchronous/recorded hours available through December 31, 2025. These credits apply toward LBSW, LMSW, and LCSW licensure requirements.
Nicki Sanders, MSW, is committed to career development, professional development, and organizational development. As Founder and CEO of Nicki Sanders Leadership Consulting, her mission is simple – to eliminate toxic workplaces by developing skilled, empathetic, and goal-oriented leaders who have the vision, support, and resources to create a culture where business prospers, and employees thrive individually and collectively. Nicki has an extensive background in nonprofit management leading high-functioning, multi-disciplinary teams, volunteer recruitment and retention, and social impact programming. She is a thought leader dedicated to dismantling the outdated, narrow view of social work and an accomplished professor, coach, trainer, and group facilitator who has combined her gift for authentic relationships, Master of Social Work degree, and over 20 years of diverse work experience to create a life and career aligned with her values and purpose. She is a lover of nature, cupcakes, travel, and 80’s hip hop and R&B music.
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