NASW-CA cannot wait to share space with you at our first in-person Lobby Days Conference in four years! On Sunday, April 16 we will be joined by hundreds of current and future social workers who are ready to advocate for issues that affect social work, our clients, and our communities. As part of our Conference, we are proud to announce that Senator Caroline Menjivar, MSW will be joining us as our Keynote Speaker. Be sure to register to hear from Senator Menjivar and other leaders in legislative advocacy in April.
About Senator Caroline Menjivar, MSW
Senator Caroline Menjivar represents California’s 20th District, Burbank and the San Fernando Valley. She holds an MSW from UCLA and has vast public service experience within the very communities she now represents as Senator.
As a young lesbian, who could not come out to her family, Menjivar struggled in finding resources or safe spaces for LGTBQ+ youth. The lack of familial acceptance and her personal experience in navigating her sexual orientation motivated Menjivar to be the representative that she yearned for as a teenager and young adult. Upon return from active duty in the Marine Corps, Menjivar went back to school. When she took her first Sociology class she was hooked, eventually falling in love with fighting for social justice.
While attending college, Menjivar worked as an EMT and witnessed the lack of comprehensive behavioral health services and flawed emergency responses to the mental health crises. During her time as a domestic violence therapist, responding to calls with LAPD, Menjivar found having a trained crisis therapist on the scene improved victim advocacy.
As a social worker Menjivar knows, when communities are supported with robust behavioral health resources, powered by a strong workforce of social workers and mental health professionals, people can overcome the obstacles they face in life. Social workers are always on the frontlines, doing the hard work, breaking barriers through advocacy, and seeking to lift-up communities with equitable and holistic solutions to today’s intersecting issues. They too need to be supported and uplifted to be able to continue to support our most vulnerable.
Senator Caroline Menjivar’s wife, Jocelyn Tapia, is in the mental health sector as well and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. They reside in Panorama City with their two doggies.
Learn more about Caroline here.
We look forward to welcoming nearly 1,000 attendees and Senator Menjivar to the stage to share how social workers can break barriers and lead change together.
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