Olymphia O’Neale-White, DSW, LCSW, CFSW, PMHC, BCD
Founder and Executive Trainer of Through My Lense Consulting Services
Backstory
By Sue Coyle
“If I were to describe my jobs right now, I would say that I am a conduit of change in the form of education, public speaking and empowerment of social workers and affiliated professionals,’’ says Olymphia O’Neale-White, DSW, LCSW, CFSW, PMHC, BCD, founder and executive trainer of Through My Lense Consulting Services (TMLCS). TMLCS offers career consultation and professional development to individuals and organizations.
O’Neale-White also is a military social worker, having enlisted after her sophomore year in college. Her path toward social work began in college as well, when it was she who needed support. “A social worker helped me. She provided firm footing in a chaotic storm.,” O’Neale-White recalls. “I wanted to be her for other people.”
Having earned a degree in sociology as an undergraduate, O’Neale-White was a job coach and a victims advocate before returning to school for her MSW. She then accepted a position working at an inpatient psychiatric facility. “That position cut my teeth and made me the social worker that is able to withstand and work under pressure. It gave me the grit I need.”
It was a later position at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, however, that helped bring TMLCS to life. “All my colleagues were asking ‘How did you get in there?’ … I found myself saying ‘Let me help you. Let me look at your documents.’ That is where Through My Lense Consulting Services was born.”
O’Neale-White also has earned her DSW, opting for it over a PhD because of the practice component. “I am always going to have my hands in practice, so for me a PhD would not best serve me. My goal is to always hit the ground running and implement the things that I design. It fit what I planned on doing in social work.”
This is one of the reasons NASW chose O’Neale-White for its 2024 Emerging Social Work Leader award. “Beyond her commitments in mental health and the military, ‘Dr. O’ embodies a creative spirit and is recognized as an emerging social work leader in the profession. Her impactful contributions have already left a lasting impression, and her potential for further growth and influence is boundless.” (Read more at the NASW and NASW Foundation Awards page.)
O’Neale-White is currently working on a series of publications called “The Survival Guide for Successful Social Workers.” The student edition will debut soon, with a postgraduate edition to follow.
Outside of work, O’Neale-White loves traveling, horseback riding and reading. She emphasizes the importance of the relationships she has built, both personally and professionally, including an expansive list of social work mentors. “All of those different connections, relationships, experiences and people,” she says, “they all combine to create what Dr. O and TMLCS currently are.”