Board of Directors

CHARLES E. LEWIS, JR., a political social worker, is the founder and director of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP), a nonprofit organization that works to engage social workers with the U.S. Congress. CRISP produces an annual Social Work Day on the Hill and Student Advocacy Day during March which is Social Work Month. He was recently inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Dr. Lewis was Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director for former Congressman Ed Towns when he oversaw the creation of the Congressional Social Work Caucus. He is a member of the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work Leadership Board, the Board of Directors of Influencing Social Policy, and a Commissioner with the Special Commission on Advancing Macro Social Work Practice. He earned his MSW degree in clinical counseling from Clark Atlanta University and a PhD in policy, planning, and policy analysis from Columbia University.

EMILY HOPKINS, MSW graduated with her Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She is passionate about people, social policy, and political social work. Emily knows the value of civic participation and hopes to always be an advocate for vulnerable populations.

Emily is a 2020 Presidential Management Fellowship Finalist and will be pursuing a career in the public sector, bridging her passions of advocating for children and social policy reform. Emily earned her Master of Social Work degree in Social Policy and Political Social Work at the University of Michigan.

ELIZABETH GILLETTE is a graduate student at the Columbia University School of Social Work and a Graduate Fellow of the Council of World Women Leaders at The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, King’s College, London. She served as the 2020-2021 CSSW Senator in the Columbia University Senate and is presently a member of the Columbia University Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Diversity Commission and chairs the Student Affairs Subcommittee on Anti-Racist Education. She was a graduate research assistant for both Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, as well as the Earth Institute, Center for Sustainable Development.

Elizabeth began work in philanthropy as a nonprofit and political fundraising executive in 2004, primarily for healthcare and social service organizations, with a focus on at-risk children and families. She served as chief development officer and board member to multiple nonprofits and was the campaign finance director for a Texas House Representative. During her development career, she guided $30 million in transactions that support education, civil rights, and criminal justice reform. As a first-generation college graduate, she completed her undergraduate studies in business administration and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

A fervid advocate for Indigenous People’s rights, equality, and international social welfare, and racial and climate justice, she actively supports her local community as a board member on the Human Services and Housing Fund board for the City of Fort Collins in Colorado. When time permits, she models and enjoys writing, especially about the natural world. Recently, she became a double-certified Master Naturalist.

REBECCA WONG is a social worker specializing in program evaluation and policy analysis. She is currently working at Working Capital Fund, focusing on impact measurement and management, as well as communications, investing in technology solutions to address forced labor, gender equity, and climate justice.

She has a strong background in research, with five years of qualitative and quantitative research experience, including a Sociology Thesis that she completed with High Honors, and has worked in various sectors, including academia, private sector venture capital and non-profits, and public sector graduate-level internships with Congressional and state senate offices. Her focus areas include gender-based violence, human trafficking, criminal legal reform, and wealth inequality, and she approaches these issues through impact investing, policy advocacy, analysis, and research, aiming to drive policy improvements and enhance program effectiveness.

Rebecca is passionate about creating impactful change and advancing justice for vulnerable populations. She believes in using data and evidence-based practices to achieve this goal, as evident from her LinkedIn posts, where she shares her experiences and reflections on being a social worker in venture capital.

TANYA RHODES SMITH is a dedicated social worker, educator, and advocate who is committed to building a more inclusive and responsive democracy, with expertise in civic engagement, election policy, legislative advocacy, and voting as a social determinant of health. She is the former Director of the Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work and an Instructor in Residence at the UConn School of Social Work, where she leads research collaboratives on civic education and engagement, develops curricula and training models on voter engagement and political participation, and advocates for expanded voting rights and policy.

Tanya has a strong background in teaching and experience in program planning and evaluation, political advocacy, and political social work. As the co-founder of the National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign, she has trained thousands of social workers, students, and advocates on civic engagement and electoral politics. She has a wide range of skills and expertise, including public health, nonprofit organizational development, program evaluation, and research, and is fluent in English and Spanish.

She is actively involved in her community and passionate about various causes, including civil rights and social action, economic empowerment, environment, human rights, disaster and humanitarian relief, politics, poverty alleviation, and social services.

LUISA LOPEZ, MSW, SIFI, is a highly accomplished professional who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Latino Social Work Coalition and Scholarship Fund and also serves as the Board Director of the Social Work Democracy Project. She has a strong background in nonprofit leadership, management, and social work advocacy and a deep connection to the Manhattan and Bronx communities. She holds an MSW from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work.

Luisa has been recognized as one of the 2024 Nonprofit Power Players by PoliticsNY and amNY Metro, which is a testament to her collective work in creating meaningful change in her community, particularly in the areas of mental health equity, social work empowerment, and social justice for all New Yorkers. She proactively advocates for various social causes, including the Right to IVF bill, which she advocated for on Capitol Hill. She has also shared her family-building journey on CBS News Eye on Health during National Infertility Awareness Week to inspire and support others facing similar struggles.

Her work and advocacy are centered around empowering the mental health workforce in vulnerable communities and implementing innovative solutions to address their needs, focusing on creating a more just and equitable society for all. Luisa has a strong educational background as a lecturer at Columbia School of Social Work, where she was President of the Graduate Student Association and the Latinx Social Work Student Organization. She received the 2018 Presidential Service Award for Community Engagement and the 2018 Silver Award for Excellence in Leadership.

CHAD DION LASSITER is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, where he provides significant leadership and administrative responsibilities in promoting and enforcing human rights and social justice in the state. Based in Philadelphia, PA, he oversees four PHRC Regional Offices, including 12 directors and 80 staffers, in conjunction with 11 Commissioners appointed by the PA Governor.

President Biden appointed Lassiter to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans in 2023. In addition to crafting programs, the commission helps advise on educational equity and economic opportunities for the Black community. 

He is the co-founder and President of the Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, which was created to serve as the conduit between the African American community and the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, where he received his MSW degree. The Philadelphia Tribune has recognized Mr. Lassiter as “The Most Influential African American Leader from 2010-2022″ and as “Who’s Who among African-Americans,” 17th edition in 2004. On November 18, 2019, Mr. Lassiter was inducted into the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice Alumni Hall of Fame.  

KHADIJAH WILLIAMS is a dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience in education, mediation, policy, and advocacy. She is passionate about centering families in policy-making and advancing second-generation economic mobility. As the National Director of Policy and Advocacy at LIFT, Inc., Khadijah leads the design and implementation of a new advocacy and policy growth strategy that aims to influence systemic change and eliminate poverty. She also serves in multiple appointed advisory roles at local and national nonprofits and within local government.

Khadijah has a strong background in strategic analysis and planning, racial justice, community organizing, program management and implementation, data analysis, policy synthesis and recommendation, problem-solving, advising/coaching, lived experience, and public speaking, which enables her to pose thoughtful questions and propose creative solutions to addressing social-economic problems. She has a unique personal story of surviving chronic homelessness, which has been covered by several prominent media outlets, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Essence Magazine, and she is regularly asked to speak.

Khadijah holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Harvard University and is deeply committed to social justice and community power, as evidenced by her extensive volunteer work and professional endeavors. She seeks to connect with policy experts and wonks to discuss LIFT’s inaugural policy agenda, which focuses on four issue areas: basic needs, cash policies, childcare/early childhood, and workforce development/living wage.