Regional Leader Spotlight: Meet Shelly Kalmer

Shelly Kalmer, MSW, ACSW, Regional Director, Region A

What has been your favorite part of being a regional leader?

I have most enjoyed getting to know social workers in my region and across the state. As a board member and participating in the many state-wide events—CEU Conferences, Lobby Days, Leadership Conferences—in addition to attending board meetings, I have had the pleasure of meeting social workers who have become friends and resources for clients I support. As in any professional field, networking is one of the most important tools we can utilize to find resources for our clients.

What type of social work experience do you possess? 

After graduating from HSU with my BASW and CSU Sacramento with my MSW, I practiced in the field of foster care and adoption for many years. I have taught at the College of Marin and am now the site coordinator for the distance education MSW program offered through CSU Long Beach School of Social and hosted in Sonoma County. I also practice as a medical social worker in a local hospital.

What is your favorite type of self-care practice?

My favorite self-care is listening to music, traveling with my husband and friends, and hanging out with my two dogs Alice, a four-year-old Australian Shepherd, and Sasha, a senior Border Collie/Aussie mix rescued four years ago at the age of 8, 9, or 10. The rescue group didn’t know for sure.

What are the benefits of reaching out to regional leadership?

I enjoy hearing from our members and other social workers who are interested in learning about the benefits of membership. I’ve often been able to connect new professionals to seasoned professionals for resource sharing, job ideas and openings, and community building. I really appreciate hearing from local social workers who are interested in organizing events and/or presenting CEU topics.

Can you share about the events you host in your area and how members can get involved/benefited by this? 

Region A has four very active units: the San Francisco, Marin and Petaluma units have CEU events several times throughout the year, and the Sonoma unit holds monthly events ranging from networking, book discussion, and CEU events.

Topics of CEU events held by the various units in the Region A include implicit bias, critical incident stress debriefing, immigration issues, lobbying and election concerns, and the business of having a private practice and more.

What is the best way to get a hold of you?

My contact details and those of the unit leaders are listed on the NASW California Chapter website. Visit http://www.naswca.org/?117

Any additional information about yourself that you would like to share with the members in your area?

I’m a social work nerd and believe strongly in the values and ethics of our profession.  I believe that professional social workers have a responsibility for advocating not only for our clients, but also for our profession. We must continue to seek title protection and fair pay. I struggle with the now familiar and often quoted, “I didn’t get into social work for the money.”  I believe that professional social workers (BASW, MSW, LCSW, DSWs) should receive fair and just compensation.