“I always felt compelled to help and serve others,” says Carol Campbell Edwards, MSW, LCSW. “It was a family value that I grew up with. I got introduced to teaching and found I had a lot of passion for it.”
Edwards, director of Region VII (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and the Virgin Islands) for the NASW board of directors, said her mother was a school social worker, and her father, a middle school teacher.
“I didn’t anticipate going into teaching, but I knew that I always wanted to contribute to strengthening my community and bringing in a humanitarian focus,” said Edwards, director of the BSW and Professional Development programs and assistant teaching professor at Florida State University College of Social Work.
“I thought if I get a chance to teach social work, I will be able to combine both of what I saw in my mom and dad and help shape the next generation of social workers.”
After serving as president of NASW’s Florida Chapter, as well as holding other leadership roles there, Edwards decided to run for an open position on NASW’s national board in order to contribute to a larger conversation. She said she hasn’t always seen leadership that represents her—especially culturally and racially—in the settings where she has worked.
“If you don’t see yourself in the room, you have got to make the change,” she said. “I teach my students if you want change, you have to participate in that process. So, I became active in NASW after recognizing that.”