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Dr. Gwen Bouie-Haynes has been chosen as the new executive director for The National Association of Social Workers, Mississippi Chapter. Throughout her career, she has shown profound devotion to issues such as sexual assault, stalking, mental health, domestic violence, and veterans and under-served people.
“I was excited and humbled to receive the call that I had been selected for this position,” says Bouie-Haynes. “I interviewed with the executive leadership at the national and local levels. Though, a challenging process, it was rewarding to know that my professional interests were compatible with the organization’s goals to empower people who are vulnerable and oppressed.”
Recently, she served as an adjunct professor at JSU in the Master of Social Work program teaching courses focusing on children/youth, oppression, health and human behavior of individuals and field education seminar.
“Social work is an advanced generalist profession that touches every sector of communities,” says Bouie-Haynes. “I have had the honor of working for great leaders and supervisors in the private and public sectors, who put me in positions to thrive and grow in this profession. I have also been able to gain exposure in a variety of roles, whether as an advocate, grant writer, professor, or division director, to continuously build the skills that I needed to position myself for an opportunity to serve the social work profession and the community.”
Her professional experience in the area of social work includes legislative advocacy work, non-profit development, grant-writing, consulting, community organizing and program development and implementation.
Bouie-Haynes shares her plans for her new role by saying, “In the near future, I would like to increase membership in NASW in order to have a better perspective of how to address the needs for people and enhance our social policy initiatives. I would also like to provide social workers with the best networking and professional development opportunities to build their credentials. This is even more essential now that social workers are being asked to provide tele-therapy and tele-supervision or other technological services that will continue to emerge in the profession.”
As the new executive director for NASW, she will have the opportunity to utilize her vast amount of experiences to best serve the membership in the state of Mississippi. Bouie-Haynes will collaboratively work with the NASW membership on a local, state, regional and national level.
She earned a Ph.D. in Social Work with a concentration in Social Policy, Planning and Administration from Jackson State. She is also a Licensed Master Level Social Worker.