Title: Direct Service, Advocacy, Mentoring: Exploring Social Workers’ Interconnecting Roles through the Lens of Afghan Evacuee Resettlement

Description: Did you know that Massachusetts is currently in the process of resetting thousands of Afghan evacuees into communities across the Commonwealth? Join us to learn more about the connection between social work and refugee resettlement work, find out how to translate a direct service experience or professional expertise into an advocacy platform to increase support for underserved populations, and deepen your understanding of how you are or can contribute to training the next generation of social workers through your role as a social work field supervisor.

Three learning objectives:

1. Better understand refugee resettlement work in Massachusetts and the current initiative to resettle thousands of Afghan evacuees across the state, and learn about social work’s unique connection and contribution to immigrant integration work

2. Learn how to transition direct service and social work practice into legislative advocacy focused on changing policy and influencing state resources

3. Deepen your understanding of your role as a social work student supervisor and its impact

Speakers: 

Alexandra “Xan” Weber is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Massachusetts and specializes in resource development and non-profit management. Xan began her work at IINE as the Community Services Coordinator at the Boston site in 2008. In her first week on the job, Xan greeted a Nepali family of five at Logan Airport and cemented her passion for welcoming refugees and working to support immigrant rights and lives. Since then, Xan has worked in varying program and development roles of increasing responsibility at IINE and in 2015, Xan created IINE’s Theory of Change and is responsible for helping reshape IINE’s overall strategic program plan.

Over the past several years, Xan has focused on strengthening and expanding IINE’s continuum of direct support services to immigrants, building partnerships with organizations, employers, funders, and communities at each IINE site, and advancing IINE as a leader in immigrant integration. In 2022, Xan transitioned to Senior Vice President, Advancement, and is responsible for IINE’s overall fundraising strategy including public and private fundraising, communications, marketing, advocacy, and the achievement of annual revenue goals. Prior to IINE, Xan provided behavioral health services and worked in family and children’s direct care and crisis support in Iowa, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. 

Xan holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Iowa, where she received her Master’s in Social Work, and certificates from the Institute of Nonprofit Management and Training at Tufts University, Family Therapy Training Program in Boston, and Clinical Program in Trauma at Simmons University. Xan lives with her husband and two children in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Tashi Lhamu is a graduate student at Boston University School of Social Work and an alum of University of Massachusetts Boston where she received a BA in Social Psychology with a minor in Human Rights. She intends to pursue a career in macro social work, hoping to grow further in the field of organizational and resource development, nonprofit administration, and advocacy. Tashi focuses on immigrants and refugees, racially and ethnically minoritized populations, anti-poverty efforts, workers’ rights, and women’s rights. She currently interns on the Grants team at the International Institute of New England (IINE) and volunteers as a Research Assistant with South Asian Workers’ Center (SAWC) in Cambridge, MA. A daughter of former Tibetan refugees and raised across Midwest and Northeast United States, Tashi brings both a global and domestic eye, as well as cultural sensitivity, to her work in supporting nonprofit organizations.

This event is approved for 1.5 CEUs

$15 for NASW members / $30 for non-members