National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Women’s Advocacy Day Reception – The Pack’s Passion for Policy

On Monday, February 23, 2015, 18 Seaboard, a popular restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, was teeming with women on a mission. Though the women were of all races, religions, ethnicities, ages, and various personal backgrounds, the group shared one common goal; to make their voices heard with their passion for civic engagement.

The event was arranged by the National Association for Social Workers and the North Carolina Women United (NCWU) organization. NCWU is a progressive community of women who lobby for education, civic participation, health, and economic issues. These passionate women educate themselves about these issues and familiarize themselves with the many avenues through which they may voice their concerns. NCWU strives for full equality of all women in North Carolina by empowering women to use their voices to talk about policy discussions.

Also present at this reception, were Senators Mike Woodard, Josh Stein and the woman of the hour, Representative Carla Cunningham. Cunningham moved the audience with her speech detailing plans to move North Carolina forward. She encouraged all present to elect representatives who would make women’s interests and needs a priority. Cunningham’s plan is, first and foremost, to expand voting rights. The goal of the voting rights expansion is to be more inclusive of seniors, minorities, college students and women in general. Representative Cunningham ended her speech with an inspirational call to action, saying “2016 is coming and it’s a woman’s year. Don’t quit. Be fearless. And keep moving forward.”

Following this Women’s Advocacy Reception was an advocacy day full of trainings aimed at teaching participants how to communicate with their legislators/representatives regarding women sensitive topics and concerns, as well as speaking with legislators at press conferences. Afterwards, the women in attendance were invited to speak with their legislators and voice various other concerns.

The Department of Social Work at NC State was proud to be represented by our own Bachelor’s of Social Work (BSW) student Adriana Ognibene.  Ognibene met with and discussed issues with the aforementioned representatives and expressed the Pack’s Passion for Policy.

Article written by Adriana Ognibene and edited by Paige Moore. To be included in the Department of Social Work’s 2015 newsletter.