Social Work Day on the Hill
MARCH 25, 2026 | Washington DC
Social Work Day on the Hill is an annual CRISP event. Hundreds of social work students from schools and departments from all over the country gather in our nation’s capital for the opportunity to advocate for federal legislation that helps our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
Special live and simulcast events and programs provide opportunities for social workers and social work students to celebrate Social Work Month and engage with the democratic process.
Check out the 2026 event photos!
CRISP Award Winners
Outstanding Congressional Staffer
JOVANNI D. AYRES, a South Carolina native and graduate of South Carolina State University, is a dedicated advocate for equity, empowerment, and public service. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she advances Black and Brown voices through mentorship, civic engagement, and policy leadership. Her experience includes work with Congressman James E. Clyburn, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Wilson Center as a Foreign Policy Fellow. She contributed to state legislation recognizing and served on the House Ways and Means Committee. She currently works in the Democratic Cloakroom and serves as President of the Congressional Black Associates.
Outstanding Individual in Academia
DR. SHANNON R. LANE is a leading scholar advancing the field of political social work and a compelling recipient of the 2026 CRISP Award for Outstanding Individual in Academia. As co-author of Political Social Work, she helped institutionalize a discipline that prepares practitioners to engage policy, governance, and democratic systems with rigor and ethics. Her work bridges scholarship and practice through national trainings, research collaborations, and mentorship. Dr. Lane was recently appointed the Director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.
Outstanding Social Work Student
DEKEITRA GRIFFIN is a PhD student at Louisiana State University and a nationally engaged advocate advancing behavioral health and HIV equity. He holds leadership roles with the Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV/AIDS, the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition, and the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus. President of LSU’s Association of Black Social Workers, he brings policy engagement and lived experience to his work. A survivor of multiple adversities, Griffin translates personal insight into advocacy that strengthens services, informs policy, and improves outcomes for marginalized communities.
Outstanding Individual in Government
ERICA CALLICUTT is a highly effective policy strategist in the Virginia House of Delegates, serving as Chief of Staff and Legislative Assistant to Delegate Bonita Anthony. In 2025, she helped advance bipartisan affordable housing legislation and strengthen the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, promoting equitable outcomes across the Commonwealth. Her portfolio spans consumer, business, and housing equity issues, improving legislative responsiveness to community needs. Grounded in social work and strategic governance, Callicutt brings a constituent-centered approach to policymaking, positioning her as a respected leader and impactful public servant.
Outstanding Social Worker in Business
DR. LA SHAWN M. PAUL, DSW, LCSW-R, is a nationally recognized mental health leader advancing equity for Black women and girls. As founder of Social Work Diva and President of Redefine Strong Inc., she addresses disparities in access, awareness, and culturally responsive care. She created the Black Women’s Mental Health Conference, co-hosted with NYU, convening leaders across sectors. A clinician, educator, and policy advocate, Dr. Paul integrates practice with systems change, influencing mental health discourse nationwide. Her work challenges stigma, promotes self-care, and advances structural solutions to improve outcomes in communities of color.
Young Social Workers Speak
The panel will focus on power asymmetry as it relates to Dr. Charles Lewis’s article, Politics of Preserving Democracy in a Diverse Society. Democracy in a diverse society is fundamentally shaped by how power is distributed, contested, and renegotiated over time. The discussion emphasizes that politics is, at its core, about “how power is shared and wielded within societies,” and that democracy’s durability depends on managing competing interests among diverse groups.
The panel’s moderators, Avah Toomer and Becca Wong, will guide the discussion about how power asymmetry connects to the Constitution’s framers’ original challenge—constructing a system that balanced competing forces while protecting against domination by any one group. As the article notes, these tensions were evident from the beginning, particularly around slavery, representation, and suffrage, where power was unevenly allocated and contested. The Constitution itself emerged as a compromise shaped by these asymmetries rather than a resolution of them.
The discussion also aligns with the article’s analysis of contemporary threats. Ongoing disparities in political influence, economic inequality, and access to participation reflect enduring structural imbalances. Moreover, rising polarization, mistrust in institutions, and challenges to electoral integrity illustrate how unresolved asymmetries can destabilize democratic systems.
By elevating the voices of emerging social workers, the panel embodies the article’s call for broader civic engagement and more inclusive public discourse as essential strategies for preserving a functioning multiracial democracy.
The panel will include Adeola Durodola, Morgan State University; Emily Carchia, Columbia University; Ashley Singh, Kennesaw State University; and Cristino Chavez, Yeshiva University.
AVAH TOOMER, a graduate of Howard University’s MSW program, is Senior National Manager for Policy & Advocacy at LIFT, Inc.
REBECCA WONG, a graduate of the University of Michigan, is Project Coordinator, Research and Evaluation/Assistant Research Scientist, at NYU Center on Violence and Recovery.