2023 Statewide Social Work Awards Call for Nominations

It’s Time to Honor Outstanding California Social Work Leaders

Each day, social workers and social service professionals help break barriers through advocacy, education, leadership, and beyond. We continue to be inspired by the combined contributions committed professionals have on mental health, policy change, education, administration, social justice, and the world.  

Every October at the NASW-CA Annual Conference Social Work Awards, we honor and celebrate extraordinary individuals and organizations for their achievements and significant contributions to social work, social justice, and their communities. These awardees embody NASW values and ethics in their practice and advance social change in their communities. Nominations are open, so please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for one of this year’s awards. We look forward to honoring four exceptional awardees at our Annual Conference, in person, on October 20. 

2023 Award Categories Include  

Social Worker of the Year  
The Social Worker of the Year is a leader who has made significant contributions to the profession in the past few years, has diverse and multicultural experience, serves exceptional practice and advocacy for clients and/or communities, and/or has made an impact on social policy benefitting social workers or the communities we serve. 

Lifetime Achievement Award 
The Lifetime Achievement honoree is a role model who exemplifies a lifelong commitment to social work, has repeatedly contributed to the social work community and those we serve, advocates for equity and has made a lasting impact on social change. This awardee’s distinguished practice has received recognition beyond the social work profession, and their outstanding creativity continually supports and promotes social justice and well-being. 

Community Member of the Year Award  
The Community Member of the Year is a non-social worker whose public service accomplishments reflect the values and mission of professional social work. The awardee in this category has diverse and multicultural experience, and works to improve the quality of life of at-risk and vulnerable communities.  

Organization of the Year 
The Organization of the Year is a community organization who has made invaluable contributions to the populations we serve, works closely with at-risk and vulnerable communities, promotes diversity and multicultural experiences, and is committed to addressing and advancing social issues to make our communities more resilient. 

We welcome our social work community to submit a nomination for yourself or a colleague and share your great work with us! Social workers from all over the state of California qualify. NASW-CA is proud to uplift your accomplishments and your stories, and we look forward to reviewing your nominations. We appreciate you and we thank you. 

The deadline to submit nominations is Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

Congratulations to our 2022 Awardees

Please contact membership@naswca.org with any questions.