From Internship to President, New Jersey Member Has Active History With Chapter

Boardroom

By Paul R. Pace

NASW New Jersey Chapter President Carrie Conger, MSW, LSW, has been a member of the association for 24 years— and she has always volunteered for her chapter.

“Over time, I have seen the chapter grow,” she says. “I thought it was time to take on a significant role—that’s kind of what made me think (of running for) chapter president.”

Conger has served on every chapter committee in some capacity, including the Continuing Education Conference Committee that plans the chapter’s annual conference. She also has served on committees involving ethics, diversity, legislation and Political Action for Candidate Election, or PACE.

“I feel it’s really important to be a member of my professional association but also making sure I am an active member,” says Conger, regional quality assurance director for Community Options Inc., a community provider for individuals with intellectual/mental disabilities. “What I am doing is representing social workers and members and the clients that we all work with.”

Conger says she became a social worker because the profession impacts every facet of people’s lives, and it uses a strengths-based perspective that can benefit clients and their communities.

“I really appreciated as an undergraduate the large reaching scope of social work,” she says.

She adds that it’s important to volunteer for your professional association because that is how change starts.

“In our professional lives, we spend so much time working for others,” Conger says. “It’s equally important that we are advocating and working on our own behalf. I feel NASW, as the professional association, is there to support us and advocate for us. It provides us with the opportunity to connect with and work with like-minded colleagues.”