California Social Welfare Archives Announces 45th Anniversary Celebration and Awards

Leaders in social welfare and civil rights to be honored at milestone event.

CONTACT: Spencer Carney, CSWA Program Coordinator, at cswa@usc.edu or (213) 764-3069

Los Angeles, California (March 14th, 2024) – The California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA) will hold its 45th Anniversary Celebration and Awards on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the Lomas Estate in Pasadena, California. The luncheon event will include a program that features award recipients who are nationally respected leaders in the areas of social welfare and civil rights.

CSWA will present George D. Nickel Awards for outstanding contributions to social welfare, to Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and to Pastor William D. Smart Jr, president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California and co-pastor of the Christ Liberation Ministries in Los Angeles; and the Frances Lomas Feldman Excellence in Education Award to Dr. Joy Angela DeGruy, nationally renowned author, researcher and educator. The Madeleine Stoner and Ralph Fertig Student Scholar Award will be presented to Marisa Vasquez and James DeBacco, current Master of Social Work students at the University of Southern California.

Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear remarks from Dr. Ferrer, Pastor Smart and Dr. DeGruy related to their respective areas of practice and advocacy.

“At the California Social Welfare Archives, we understand that it is the people that matter most,” said Maurice Hudson, president of CSWA. “As we take pride in what has been accomplished over the past 45 years, we also renew our commitment to preserve and illuminate the stories and struggles of the diverse communities we serve.”

For more information about the event, including how to purchase tickets, please visit swarchive.org/cswa45.

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About the California Social Welfare Archives

The mission of the CSWA is to collect and preserve documents and personal histories that illuminate the development of social issues and problems in the field of health and welfare in California, as well as the answers that have emerged to cope with such problems. The Archives are available to researchers, historians, students, developers of social policy and others, and offer the opportunity to examine linkages between the past and present, to learn from history, and to inform understanding of contemporary and future problems and appropriate solutions. Relevant items are collected, cataloged, and maintained by the USC Libraries in Special Collections and the Digital Library. The CSWA is an independent, statewide organization that operates with support from, and under the auspices of, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.