Long Beach Social Worker Leads Revolution

By S. Jolene Hui, LCSW, NASW-CA Director of Membership

Daniel Brezenoff is advocacy in action—proof that social workers can bring about social change. He started a change.org petition that garnered the most signatures of any change.org petition…ever.

The petition—which went on to receive 4.9 million signatures—was entitled “Electoral College: Make Hillary Clinton President” and sent him on a journey to convince electors to vote against the popular votes in their states (if that popular vote had gone to Donald Trump). Or, in his words: “We are calling on ‘conscientious electors’ to protect the Constitution from Donald Trump, and to support the national popular vote winner.” Hillary Clinton garnered the most votes nationwide.

Brezenoff raised about $250,000 for this endeavor, which was used to purchase full-page ads in major newspapers. He even went to Austin, Texas to present the petition to the Secretary of State’s office and held a rally on the Capitol steps.

Another part of the adventure: “I got to go on Fox News and argue with some of the most obnoxious liars in history.”

His campaign was a success. Even though Trump won, seven electors abandoned their popular candidates, which is the most to ever do so. The previous record was six in the election of James Madison.

“Never before have both presidential candidates had multiple electors abandon them. Never before had a citizen movement lobbied the electors. So I was very happy with the outcome, because I certainly did not expect to actually prevent Trump from being inaugurated,” he said.

The Long Beach-based social worker is an East Coast transplant, who had a career in education prior to finding a path in social work.

“Later, after teaching a while, I found it very hard to create meaningful relationships while trying to force nonwestern history down the throats of 8th graders in groups of 30 at a time,” he said. “I was more interested in helping the kids manage their emotions and relationships than in battling to manage the class and teaching to tests.”

Prior to becoming licensed to teach, Brezenoff worked with kids with severe behavioral and cognitive challenges. In that work, he met a lot of inspiring social workers along the way, which put social work on his mind. Working in Appalachian communities with severely mentally ill adults, he says, was the, “final push” to get him to pursue his MSW. He graduated from UNC, Chapel Hill, and then after a brief stop in education again he moved to California.

When he got to California, he worked with kids who were in the foster care system or at risk of being placed there. From there, he stepped out of his comfort zone to work with the adult population as a therapist and case manager (and then clinical coordinator) for College Hospital.

“I had never wanted to work with adults and I was a bit intimidated, but I soon found I enjoyed it and got pretty good at it. I stayed there five years and became clinical coordinator.”

In addition to his work with vulnerable populations, Brezenoff said, “I also have been a political activist basically, since I could walk and talk, and the commitment of social work to social justice and advocacy are very aligned with my goals and values.”

As a result, Brezenoff has spent a good portion of his career in the political realm. And in 2007, the Los Angeles Green Party asked him to run for an open congressional seat “not with an expectation of winning, but to push progressive ideas, and also to have fun! And fun it was!”

After his run he went to work as the legislative director and communications deputy for  Robert Garcia, the newly elected councilmember at the time. Brezenoff also went on to work for Garcia when he became mayor of Long Beach in 2014. There was a short stop in between when he was the social services director at a locked psychiatric facility.

He left his job as deputy chief of staff to Mayor Garcia to pursue his Electoral College mission. He had been looking to return to full-time clinical work, around election time, and is now the assistant director at The Village in Long Beach (Mental Health America of Los Angeles).

Also, clinically, from the time he was at College Hospital, he has maintained his private practice and teaches part-time at California State University, Dominguez Hills. To top it all off, he said, “We also formed a political action committee which we will soon launch, to fight for electoral justice and help Democrats win Congress.”

Brezenoff has a list of accomplishments he’s rightfully proud of including his education and licensing, helping Mayor Garcia improve Long Beach, helping clients overcome challenges with mental illness.

“Also, inspiring people to fight Trump, learning to play guitar at age 40, and hiking 12 miles on a winter day in Joshua Tree.”

His advice for new social workers is this: “Pay attention to current events, they matter. Practice good self-care. Keep expanding and growing. Try new things. Feel your feelings instead of suppressing them, to overcome anxiety. Be assertive and advocate. Own your role as a leader. Laugh a lot. Cry when needed. Stay curious. Don’t expect to win but keep fighting. And never ever disrespect your clients.”

Regarding his experience with the Electoral College petition, Brezenoff said, “I learned a great deal about how our elections work and the history of the Electoral College. I had known just a little before, and had to really drill down and educate myself deeply. I saw the best and worst of humanity, with people stepping up to volunteer, and responsible conservatives coming out in support, but also with people trying to hijack the petition and mailing list for their own purposes, trolls attacking viciously, and so many ‘alternative facts’ I could choke on them.”

He continued, “Much of what I learned is hard to put into words. Most of it was a personal lesson about communication, patience, boundaries, self-care, relationships, etc.”

Jolene Hui, LCSW, is NASW-CA’s Director of Membership and can be reached at jhui@naswca.org.

Daniel Brezenoff is scheduled to speak at 2017 NASW-CA Legislative Lobby Days. Deadline to register is February 21. For more information and to sign up: http://www.cvent.com/events/2017-nasw-ca-legislative-lobby-days/event-summary-ab031f5c1bfe426a8ffe70b961f20555.aspx