Description

Upon completion of this conference, participants will be able to:

1. Evaluate social workers’ comfortability and confidence in integrating climate-related and environmental justice concerns into practice.
2. Examine the relationship between social work education/training and practitioners’ abilities to address environmental justice issues.
3. Identify organizational, policy, and systemic factors that shape social workers’ engagement with climate change and environmental justice.
4. Advance understanding of how climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities and how social workers perceive their role.

 

Presenter Bio:

Erin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Doctor of Social Work (DSW) candidate at the University of Kentucky, where her doctoral studies focus on administrative leadership within behavioral health systems. Erin currently serves as the Program Director for Jory Behavioral Health’s Secure Residential Treatment Facility (SRTF) in Salem, OR, overseeing program development, licensure standards, staff supervision, and interagency collaboration across county and legislative partners. With over a decade of experience in psychiatric social work, crisis response, and clinical leadership, she has worked extensively within state hospitals, emergency departments, community mental health agencies, and higher education settings.

Her research centers on social workers’ preparedness and comfort in addressing climate change and environmental justice areas increasingly affecting vulnerable populations. Erin’s capstone project introduces the ECO‑ACT framework, a practice‑focused model that strengthens education, comfort‑building, organizational advocacy, action planning, cross‑system collaboration, training and evaluation in social work practice. Her work aims to integrate climate-informed competencies into social work education, organizational policy, and frontline practice.
Erin has been recognized for her leadership in clinical program development and for her contributions to strengthening interdisciplinary approaches to client care. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Portland State University (PSU), where she mentors Master of Social Work (MSW) students and teach courses on ethics, field education, and applied practice.

Erin has authored agency-specific training materials, clinical toolkits, and environmental justice‑informed practice frameworks. Her forthcoming publications will extend the ECO‑ACT model and contribute to the growing body of literature on climate‑responsive social work.

 

Delivery Method: Live Interactive Training via Zoom Video Conferencing

Credit Hours: 1.0 (ACE)

Target Audience: This conference is intended for social workers and students.

Accreditation: University of Kentucky College of Social Work, Provider # 1377, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 9/29/25-9/29/28. Social workers participating in this conference will receive up to 15 general continuing education credits.

Claiming CE Credit: Instructions for claiming CE credit will be disseminated at the beginning of each session.

Questions: If you have any questions regarding CE credit or to report a grievance, please contact Christina Krantz at Christina.Krantz@uky.edu. For technical assistance, please contact lmshelp@uky.edu.

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these presentations are those of the individual presenters and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the University of Kentucky or the College of Social Work. The inclusion of any topics, perspectives, or discussions is intended for academic engagement and does not constitute endorsement by the institution.