NASW national board members are mourning the loss of one of their colleagues, Anthony “Tony” Bibus, III, PhD, LISW, who died late last year while serving as Region IX director for NASW. He was 77. Region IX includes Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.

NASW Region V national board member Alice Kay Locklear, PhD, MSW, ACSW, noted Bibus always had a leadership book in front of him at board meetings.

“He would share with members of the board what he had read,” said Locklear, a professor and assistant chairperson of the Social Work Department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. “He put the plug in for us to grab one of those books and read it because of what we would get out of it.”

Bibus could make a person feel valued, and he would genuinely listen to what people had to say, she said. “He asserted that we stay true to our profession.”

Anthony Bibus

As a board member, Bibus was a stickler for precision. “He looked at the most minute details and I think that is extremely important,” Locklear said. “He didn’t mind pointing those details out.”

“He was a phenomenal person that I will never, ever forget,” she added. “The impression that he has left us with, we will all take with us. He will not be forgotten.”

For board colleague Michelle Pliske, DSW, LCSW, RPT-S™, Bibus will be remembered for his deep compassion and kindness.

“I think he was the first person to welcome me as a new board member,” said Pliske, assistant professor at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., and Region XII director for NASW.

“You knew he genuinely cared,” she said. “He had that quality that we work so hard to teach in schools of social work.”

Pliske said Bibus set the bar for excellence in what it meant to be a professional and a leader in the field of social work.

“He came prepared to every single conversation,” she said. She noted that he had done the reading with a fine-toothed comb and came to the board meeting with challenging questions and opposing viewpoints.

He also knew when it was time to be lighthearted.

“I remember Tony saying, more than once, during these long conversations for hours and hours, Tony would be the first one to say, ‘Brains need breaks,’” Pliske said with a laugh.

“He drove that self-care aspect of how we stay present and engaged,” she said. “We can’t do that if we aren’t taking care of ourselves.”

She has since incorporated that philosophy with her students and people in other board meetings she attends.

“He is going to be greatly missed,” Pliske said. “He was an exemplary social worker, but also an amazing human.”

Bibus held a PhD from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and a MA and BA in English. In 2012, he retired from Augsburg University’s Social Work Department, where he served as the BSW director and department chairperson.

For three decades, he was an active NASW member, serving the NASW Minnesota Chapter as a member of the conference planning team or moderator at conferences/events and volunteering for multiple committees.

Bibus was a long-term member of other national and regional associations, including the Council on Social Work Education and Social Work England, and worked periodically with the Association of Social Work Boards.

He contributed to the CSWE/ASWB/NASW Curricular Guide for Licensing and Regulation. His practice and studies in child welfare, supervision, and ethics led to several publications, most recently on cultural humility.

In addition, Bibus received the NASW Minnesota Chapter’s Social Worker of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards.

As someone who ran a large organization when he was dean at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW, says he knows the need for unanticipated expenditures that may not be very large but are timely and important.

“Discretionary funding to support leadership can help make an organization run more smoothly and have a greater scale of accomplishment,” Barth says of one of the reasons he donates to the NASW Foundation.

In fact, he has donated to several NASW Foundation funds, including the NASW Social Work Pioneers® program, Memorial and Tribute Fund, Annual Fund, and Social Work Public Education.

“Another part of my giving has been to recognize people who make exceptional efforts in their roles,” says Barth, PhD, MSW, professor and chair of the executive committee of the Grand Challenges for Social Work at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

“For example, in the last year, I have donated to thank Sarah Butts (director of Public Policy at NASW) for helping me with my policy course for my students,” he says. “She went above and beyond by taking time to come speak with our graduate students. She gave great remarks that may well inspire a turn toward policymaking by an MSW student.”

Barth said he also wanted to acknowledge former NASW CEO Angelo McClain’s tenure at NASW:

“I think he was very instrumental in making some difficult changes at NASW and has also been inspirational to me and many (others). Angelo spoke to our graduating class online during the COVID-19 restrictions. It was our first online graduation in our school’s history. It really made a difference to have Angelo bring his energy, insight and experience. I also appreciated the other ways he contributed to the profession and the work that I have been doing on the Grand Challenges for Social Work. Those are things I thought were important to recognize.”

Barth notes foundations are vital for professional associations because endowments help fund long-range projects. Over the long term, if you want to support the profession, this is the place to do it, he said.

“NASW is committed to the heart and soul of the profession and is absolutely essential to its greater success and to strengthening society.”

Read more in the NASW Social Work Advocates magazine.

Carol Sobelson, MS, said she was inspired to enter social work because, “I recognized I was a good listener.”

“That led me down a clinical path for training so I could be even a better listener in understating and helping people,” says Sobelson, president of the NASW New Hampshire Chapter. “It’s interesting how my whole professional life was in clinical social work, and now I am involved in macro social work because it allows one to actively work for social justice and dignity and work on all the many disparities we have in our country.”

After graduating from Boston College, Sobelson attended Columbia University School of Social Work. She moved to Concord, N.H., in 1984 and taught at Connecticut University School of Social Work on the Concord campus while also maintaining a private practice.

She no longer teaches and retired from her private practice in 2020 after 40 years.

“I have been on the (chapter) board for many years,” Sobelson says, adding that chapter presidents who came before her inspired her to serve as chapter president. “So, when I was nominated, I was very happy and proud to accept. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

Sobelson also has served her chapter in the past as recording secretary and treasurer.

Her retirement has allowed more time to devote to social work advocacy with the New Hampshire legislature. In fact, being involved in the legislative community has been very meaningful, she says. “It allows one to recognize the needs of the community and the state, and you can have a direct influence on positive changes.”

NASW members can read the full story in NASW Social Work Advocates magazine.

What inspired you to serve as president of NASW’s Iowa Chapter?
I was interested in uplifting the social work profession when I was approached by the current Iowa Chapter president about opportunities on the board. This profession has taught me so much and helped me grow as a human. I felt this was an area I felt I could give back. NASW has always provided relevant training, advocated for the profession, and ensures the voice of social workers is at the table in law and policy discussions.

Do you have or have you had any other roles with the chapter?
I did my foundation practicum with NASW-Iowa, so this feels exciting to be active again later in my career.

What led to you becoming a social worker?
I wanted to work in mental health and my undergraduate degree is in psychology. When I was considering the direction of my masters, I learned about a local MSW program. As I explored the social work profession, I felt it was the path made for me. I didn’t just want to serve individuals within the confines of an office; My hope is to impact programs, families and communities.

NASW members, read the full Social Work Advocates magazine story.

“The world is going through a challenging time in regard to women’s health and rights, and as a social worker we have a crucial role to play to ensure women have access to proper care and health,” says Yasoda Sharma, PhD, MSW, director of Region IV for NASW’s national board of directors.

“My inspiration to serve on the board came from my desire to work toward the mission of NASW and the betterment of the social work profession,” she says.

Sharma, professor at the Department of Social Work at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, notes she came from a “humble background in a very small state in northeast India called Sikkim. I have seen firsthand the challenges faced by women, ethnic and gender minorities.”

“I always wanted to work around women’s issues and address women’s discrimination both globally and locally,” she says.

When Sharma worked for a hospital in Nepal, a tragic event triggered her future path. At the time, a man discovered he was HIV positive from a blood test. Upon hearing the news, the man later killed his family and himself.

“That really disturbed me,” Sharma reflects. “I was the only social worker working at the hospital. I just felt if only I had the opportunity to speak with this person — I cannot guarantee I would have stopped him from taking that step — I would have at least helped him with resources and maybe he would not have taken such a drastic step.”

After the tragedy, Sharma stressed to hospital administrators the importance of setting up a volunteer counseling and testing center. It took three years to find funding for the effort, but it finally materialized. Once the center was established, Sharma says she was amazed by the volume of people seeking services.

“I came across a lot of women who contracted HIV from their intimate partner,” she says.

Read the full story in NASW Social Work Advocates magazine.

“I gained a mentor from that meeting who would help me navigate my undergraduate experience and shape my professional social work identity,” says Arndt. “I am grateful that I was able to find social work so early in my educational journey and that it has provided me so many opportunities.”

Arndt, MSW, LSW, recently was elected secretary of the NASW national board of directors. He previously was director for Region XII on the board.

“My inspiration for serving on the national board of directors came from my desire to want to help shape the association and the profession,” the Hawaii resident explains. “I felt that being on the board would allow me to push the association forward, help make it more agile and responsive.”

Serving on the board has been an extraordinary experience, says Arndt, who is the coordinator of Field and Continuing Education at the Manoa Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work at the University of Hawaiʻi.

“Being part of a group that is committed to seeing social work thrive and the ability to cultivate relationships with other social workers from across the country continues to inspire me to do more, to remain active and be engaged,” he says. Early in his career, however, Arndt admits he struggled with seeing the value of his membership.

NASW members, read the full story after logging in.

Now in its third decade, the fellowship is an intensive executive leadership program designed to give more child- and family-serving professionals the confidence and competence to lead major system reforms and community change initiatives. The six women and nine men chosen for the 2022-2024 class work in the disciplines of education, juvenile justice, child welfare and housing.

Read the full story at NASW’s Social Work Advocates magazine after logging in here.

Prior to coming to the United States, Bisrat Abebe, director of Region I of the NASW national board of directors, spent several years studying philosophy and theology in a Catholic seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“When I started an MSW program at Boston College, my plan was to work in HIV/AIDS, with the immigrant population here in Boston or maybe to go back to Ethiopia,” he says. “I was familiar with these populations and issues.”

However, his experiences as a clinical social work intern opened his eyes to the impacts of severe mental illness, as well as the intersecting issues of mental health, substance use disorders, poverty, incarceration, and racism.

“This changed the trajectory of my professional career,” says Abebe, LCSW, LICSW, MA. “I have now spent over 17 years working on these important issues.”

Abebe is the service director for Community Health Resources’ Medication for Opioid Use Disorder programs, which provide treatment in six Department of Correction facilities within the state of Connecticut. He has more than 16 years of clinical, supervisory, and administrative experience as a licensed clinical social worker in Massachusetts and Connecticut. His previous work experience includes serving as dean of Academic Support Services at MIT and adjunct professor in several MSW programs.

Throughout his career, Abebe has spearheaded efforts to improve access to care for young adults and incarcerated individuals, as well as recruiting and retaining diverse staff. Abebe served on the Boston College School of Social Work Alumni board from 2015 to 2018 and was recently selected as a member of the Coalition for Racial Justice Task Force for the town of Longmeadow, Mass.

Read the full story after logging in at Social Work Advocates magazine. 

Kristi Wood says her eyes were opened to the work of NASW when she was a student in the part-time MSW program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The NASW-Wisconsin executive director, Marc Herstand, came to our class and explained the profound work that NASW does to advocate for our profession and the people we serve,” Wood says.

Today, Wood has been honored to serve on the NASW-Wisconsin board for seven years.

She has volunteered for her chapter as branch representative, secretary, president-elect, and president. She also has served as a member of the Legislative/Social Policy and Executive committees.

At the national level, Wood has volunteered her time as a member of the Child Welfare Specialty Practice Section committee. She proudly chairs the NASW National Committee on Women’s Issues (NCOWI), where they recently published a statement denouncing the attack on women’s reproductive rights.

Wood has worked in the human services and social work field for about 30 years, primarily in residential treatment, group home, and foster care environments. When chapter rules required her to take a year off from serving, she decided to run for the national board of directors. Wood, MSW, CAPSW, won her seat recently as director of Region VIII, which includes Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

NASW members can read the full story here after logging in.