Keynote Speaker: Sandra Crespo

Time: 8:45-9:45 am

CEU: 1 Cat 1

Title: Turning the Tide: Social Work, Survival, & the Courage to Continue

Keynote Description: Social workers are often described as change agents, professionals tasked with “turning the tide” on injustice, inequity, trauma, and systemic harm. Yet in the current social, political, and economic climate, many social workers are exhausted, stretched thin, and carrying the weight of both personal and professional survival.

This keynote invites participants to slow down and examine what “turning the tide” actually means, at an individual, professional, and collective level. Drawing from lived experience & long term leadership practice, Sandra N. Crespo, LCSW-C, explores the unseen labor of endurance, the isolation that can accompany strength, and the reality that sometimes leadership is not always about forward motion, but about staying afloat.

Through reflection, shared language, and grounded insight, this session challenges social workers to redefine progress, honor survival as a form of leadership, and consider what conditions must exist, personally and systemically, for true change to occur.

Learning Objectives
- By the end of this keynote, participants will be able to:
- Reflect on and define what “turning the tide” means to them personally, professionally, and within their families or communities.
- Identify how chronic exposure to systemic harm and unrelenting responsibility impacts social workers’ sense of leadership, connection, and sustainability.
- Recognize endurance and boundary-holding as valid and necessary forms of leadership & preservation within the social work profession.

Time: 10:00-1:15pm

Ethically Maximizing the Benefits of Self-Disclosure

Workshop A Speaker: Tonya M. Logan, LICSW, LCSW-C
Description: Self-disclosure is a thoughtful guide to consider when deciding what and how much to share in different social contexts. It encourages us not only to be intentional about whom we are open to but also serves as an insight into the importance of privacy and why difficulties arise during interpersonal interactions. Considering various perspectives is important as individuals may process information differently from others. This session will be interactive – with surprises! Whether we are faced with sharing information from our past or present personally or professionally, we are often unsure of how that information will be perceived. Learn how you might use less than positive information to help build relationships and show your children and clients that we can use our challenges to move us forward rather than hamper our growth.

Learning Objectives:

• Define self-disclosure and how it impacts relationships clinically.
• Consider whether sharing information from their past or present, personally or professionally, is clinically appropriate.
• Utilize less than positive information to help strengthen clinical relationships and show clients how we may use our challenges to move forward rather than hamper growth.
• Discuss the process of self-disclosure, including how we make decisions about what, where, when, and how to disclose.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Ethics & AI: Navigating the Future of Mental Health Practice

Workshop B Speaker: Kristin Whiting-Davis

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Preparing Family Caregiver

Workshop C Speaker: Julie A. Guistwite

CEU: 3 Cat 1

Time: 2:00-5:15pm

Building Bridges of Trust: Psychological Safety for Social Workers in the Workplace

Workshop D Speaker: Dr. Tonya Phillips

Description: Social workers operate in high-stakes, emotionally charged environments where psychological safety is crucial for collaboration, innovation, and well-being. This workshop will provide social work supervisors with practical tools to foster trust, create open communication, and address workplace dynamics that may hinder psychological safety. Through a mix of discussion, group activities, and case studies, participants will explore the role of psychological safety in supervision and its role towards team effectiveness and client outcomes. This workshop is designed to empower social worker supervisors to use the social work code of ethics as a framework for developing psychologically safe spaces, fostering collaborative work environments, while enhancing both professional and client outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Define psychological safety and explain its critical role in ethical social work supervision and workplace well-being.
• Demonstrate strategies for fostering trust and open communication within social work teams.
• Identify the 4 stages of psychological safety
• Develop a tailored plan to implement psychological safety strategies in social work settings
• Evaluate workplace dynamics to identify barriers and opportunities for psychological safety.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Developing a Shame Competent Perspective to Healing Complex Trauma

Workshop E Speaker: Alycha Boehm

Description: The purpose of this workshop is to understand the impact of shame post-trauma, specifically on vulnerable populations such as survivors of human trafficking. This includes exploring the negative impact to identity formation, interpersonal relationships, perception of self and overall ability to heal. Trauma related shame can be treated through the framework of compassion focused interventions and fostering shame resilience. The concept of shame resilience states it can be developed when others are given connection, empathy, and the opportunity to deconstruct distorted evaluations of self. Building shame competency through including this as a lens in which trauma informed care principles are practiced is essential to mitigating shame in trauma survivors and allowing them capacity to heal.

Learning Objectives:

• Define trauma-related shame and its intersection with on complex-PTSD
• Address the impact on relationships and identity formation
• Identify compassion-focused interventions to address trauma-related shame.
• Apply shame competency to trauma-informed care practices.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Addressing Implicit Bias: The Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities

Workshop F Speaker: Gisele Ferretto

Description: This workshop is focused on the development of strategies to address the common, yet complex ethical issues concerning implicit bias that social workers face in their practice. Content will cover the following: definitions related to implicit bias, identification of implicit bias in behavioral health practice, strategies for addressing microaggressions, establishing and maintaining a practice of self-awareness, use of self, and the examination of implicit bias for effective outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore the meaning of implicit bias, its impact on the delivery of services, and practice responses.
• Examine the role of professional ethics to identify and control for implicit bias when delivering services to diverse clients and working with diverse co-workers.
• Review the Use of Professional Self for addressing and controlling for implicit bias in social work practice.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Time: 5:30-6:30 PM

MD State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled

Optional evening workshop

Speaker name: Ashley M. Biggs

Description: The Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled provides accessible reading options for those unable to access traditional print due to a visual, physical, or organic disability. Social workers are at the forefront of care management and have built relationships with clients who may qualify for these free services. Learn about the service, who qualifies, and how to sign up those who qualify.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the free service
• Learn qualification criteria
• Learn how to certify an application

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Friday March 20th, 2026

Time: 8:45-9:45 am

Keynote Speaker: Ja’Bree Harris

CEU: 1 Cat 1

Time: 10:00-1:15pm

What's Age Got to Do With It? Understanding the Impact of Ageism and Implicit Bias

Workshop G Speaker: Bracha Poliakoff

Description: The most recent election cycle brought age and aging to the forefront of public discourse, sparking conversations about ageism and its pervasive influence on society. As helping professionals (who are also all aging ourselves!) it is crucial to understand how age bias impacts our society, and in particular, the health and well-being of our older adults. In this thought-provoking workshop, we will explore the definition and impact of ageism, the role of implicit and explicit bias in perpetuating ageism, and learn strategies for challenging ageist attitudes and behaviors. Participants will leave with valuable insights and skills needed to create a more just and equitable world for older adults.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to define ageism.
• Participants will be able to explain the difference between explicit and implicit biases.
• Participants will be able to describe 3 strategies for decreasing ageism in our society.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Implicit Bias

Unpacking Colorism: Healing the Hidden Wounds in the Black Community

Workshop H Speaker: Dr. Buckingham

Description: Colorism—the preferential treatment of lighter skin tones and the stigmatization of darker skin tones—remains a persistent and often unaddressed driver of psychological distress, interpersonal harm, and identity-based trauma within the Black community. Rooted in enslavement, racial hierarchy, and internalized oppression, colorism continues to shape mental health outcomes, family dynamics, dating and relationship patterns, workplace experiences, and service engagement.

This workshop offers an ethically grounded, culturally responsive learning experience designed to strengthen clinical awareness, deepen cultural humility, and enhance intervention competence related to colorism as a psychosocial and mental health issue. Participants will examine colorism through historical, systemic, and behavioral health frameworks while strengthening their ability to recognize indicators of colorism-related trauma and provide culturally relevant support.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and clinically conceptualize colorism and its historical roots
• Identify psychological, emotional, and relational impacts of colorism across the lifespan
• Engage in structured dialogue and story-telling
• Describe culturally relevant healing practices
• Explore collective and community-based actions to dismantle colorist thinking

CEU: 3 Cat 1

Beyond Compliance: Ethical & Anti-Oppressive Care in Schools

Workshop I Speaker: Ebony Vaughn

Description: Social Work & Ethics is a 3-credit course was developed for social work professionals.It has been approved by AWSB ACE and may meet your state board's 3 credit ethics requirement for Licensure renewal.This course seeks to provide practicing social work professionals a deepened understanding of their ethical responsibility to those that they serve and challenge the values and beliefs that often interfere with their ability to be objective in their practice.

Learning Objective:

• Participants will be able to apply theory to practice and evaluate their practice using social work practice standards.
• Participants will be able to apply knowledge of specific components of NASW Code of Ethics to professional practice
• Participants will be able to apply critical thinking skills to analyze and address ethical dilemmas.
• Participants will be able to apply an awareness of the complexities and implications in serving people from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures to engage in culturally competent social work practice.
• Participants will be able to analyze personal values, moral codes and cultural backgrounds and determine threats to effective social work practice.

CEU: 3 Cat 1 in Ethics

Time: 2:00-4:00pm

Let's Talk: Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Equitable Care for Transitioning Foster Youth

Workshop I Speaker: Arielle Skinner

Description: This presentation focuses on equitable care by emphasizing tailored interventions, resources, and support for youth aging out of foster care. Drawing from personal experience as a former foster youth and her professional expertise as a licensed clinical social worker, the presenter highlights challenges such as inadequate support systems, unresolved trauma, and barriers to favorable outcomes. The session explores how social workers can mitigate these issues through strategies that address the unique needs of transitioning youth. The presentation offers a nuanced approach to fostering resilience and independence, while delivering actionable insights into equitable care practices for meaningful support beyond systemic care.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will recognize the unique challenges faced by transitioning foster youth
• Participants will be equipped with tools to implement the five key strategies to foster resilience, promote equity and improve outcomes for transitioning foster youth.
• Participants will understand how to use lived experience, research, and evidence-based practices to advocate for policies and practices that promote equity, access to resources, and positive outcomes for transitioning foster youth.

CEU: 2 Cat 1

Teaching Clients About Neuroplasticity and Mental Health

Workshop K Speaker: Ed Geraty

Description: Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life, plays a crucial role in mental health. It allows the brain to adapt to experiences, learn new things, and recover from injury or illness, including mental health conditions. By understanding and harnessing neuroplasticity, interventions can be developed to promote positive changes in brain structure and function, leading to improved mental well-being

Learning Objectives:In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn about the concept of neuroplasticity, positive and negative
• Understand the ten principles of neuroplasticity
• Learn about the mechanisms of neuroplasticity
• Understand how neuroplasticity affects healing
• Review activities that help to rewire the brain
• Learn about 7 practices that build cognitive reliance and reserve

CEU: 2 Cat 1

Using Empowerment Theory in Geriatric Social Work

Workshop L Speaker: Chaundra Scott, LMSW

Description: Many may consider geriatric social work as only being memory care and hospice. But in actuality, there are many more opportunities for care and practice that go beyond mainstream methods. When empowering your client and caregiver base with empowerment theory, you are likely to see positive client outcomes of better mood, more social interaction, and increased understanding of care planning needs. With empowerment all parties are encouraged with a strength based approach to advocate for themselves against historically oppressive systems.

Learning Objectives:

• To increase awareness of geriatric social work opportunities for growth.
• To enhance understanding of empowerment theory and how its theoretical framework can support geriatric care.
• To increase your knowledge base and resource hub to support your immediate client systems.

CEU: 2 Cat 1