DSW student Alexis Glennon name a National Social Work Health Futures Fellow

Congratulations to DSW student Alexis Glennon on being named a National Social Work Health Futures Fellow. Glennon is one of 26 social work experts from around the U.S. and Canada who will spend the next 18 months learning about how to apply a futures lens to some of the most challenging problems of society. Glennon states that, "I am honored and excited to join Dr. Nissen and the other fellows on this journey to explore concepts surrounding the future of social work, specifically around anti-racist practices and technology. This focus is important to explore to ensure that the social work profession continues to stay relevant and current within the social justice lens and the global evolution of technology." 

The Social Work Health Futures Fellows will work together on pertinent research, studying topics including:

● The relationship of social media and technology to human health and well-being
● Use of artificial intelligence in relation to health (including the exploration of algorithmic racism as well as vital problem-solving opportunities)
● Geopolitical issues shifting the nature of place and identity
● Power and control of individual well-being, especially with regard to vulnerable people
● The impact of climate change and climate justice on human health
● The future of work for marginalized populations
● The access to and use of technology as a tool of power and set of health rights

Endorsed by the National Association of Social Work, the Council on Social Work Education, and the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work, this initiative aspires to helping to prepare a new generation of the profession.  

The project will also shine a light on the ways the future of work might impact social workers themselves who work with social determinants of health issues, including the ways that roles, tools and methods may expand and become even more interdisciplinary and more technological in the coming years. These explorations may lead to a host of new ideas about how to best teach and prepare the next generation for effective leadership and practice in a changing world.

The project is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and of the Portland State University School of Social Work.

Visit the source and full Portland State University announcement