— Lyn Stoesen, News Staff
The NASW Foundation Board of Directors met in February and welcomed several new members.
The NASW Foundation is a charitable organization that administers a wide variety of educational and research programs in an effort to fulfill its core mission of enhancing the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work policy and practice.
The Foundation board is made up of nine members. In accordance with the Foundation's bylaws, three of the board members are in professions other than social work.
Armin Weinberg is director of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Research Center and is a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Weinberg is a co-founding chair of the Intercultural Cancer Council and serves on the board of C-Change: Collaborating to Conquer Cancer.
Amber Jones is a health policy, planning and management consultant who has expertise in palliative care and hospice programs. She has served as president and chief executive officer of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State. Jones became a board member in 2006 and is vice chair.
Carla Howery retired in 2007 from the professional staff of the American Sociological Association, on which she served for 20 years. She is known for her contributions to teaching and was a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Barbara Conniff is a social worker who serves as the chief executive officer of Milestone Centers Inc. (formerly Allegheny East MHMR), a community-based agency providing treatment and support services to people with mental illness and developmental disabilities and their families. She was elected chair of the NASW Foundation board.
Other board members include NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark, who serves as board president; NASW President Elvira Craig de Silva; NASW President-Elect James J. Kelly; Gary Bailey, former NASW president and current chair of the National Social Work Public Education Campaign; and Vicki Hansen, executive director of NASW's Texas Chapter, who serves as secretary/treasurer of the board.