Southwestern Branch

Southwestern Branch includes Windsor, Chatham and the surrounding areas.

Board Membership

President: Maria DeRubeis
Past President: Mary Kaye Lucier
Secretary: Candace Hanna (Student Representative)
Treasurer: Jane Gagnon (Student Representative)
Directors:
Dr. Connie Kharvordt (Faculty Representative)
Dr. Wilfred Gallant (Francophone Representative)
Dominic Boyd
Yoon Kim
Dr. Wansoo Park
Cheryl Taggart
Theresa Hughes
Jenneke Scott (Student Representative)
Jennifer Coll (Student Representative)

Upcoming Branch Activities

Meet and Greet (OASW, Faculty of Social Work, Community) will be scheduled during Social Work Week 2009.

Recent Branch Activities

• OASW social evening took place on December 4, 2008.
• Presentations were made to Social Work students during orientation week.
• The School of Social Work has enquired about our space needs (ie. office, phone) potential for a student placement.

Advocacy Committee

The Advocacy Committee is a standing sub-committee of the Board. As such, its function is to research and recommend strategies for the Board, regarding issues both locally and provincially. The committee continues to meet on a regular basis. The main areas of concern have been poverty, children and youth and the plight of local agencies affected by the reduction in bingo revenue. The committee sends a monthly email to our branch members so all can be aware and give them an opportunity to act and become involved.

• The committee has commenced to working with local and provincial bodies such as Campaign 2000, the Homeless Coalition, and the Colour of Poverty movement.
• A letter was sent out to the provincial government in support of their poverty reduction strategy and a letter received from Dwight Duncan's office.
• Numerous emails were sent to our membership regarding updates on the Provincial and Social Advocacy Initiatives headed by both our local branch and the provincial office.
• The committee has recently been asked to explore the inability for ODSP recipients to receive travel cost reimbursement when attending social work counseling services.
• Our board members are represented on the following provincial committees:
• Provincial Nominating Committee
• The Child & Youth Task Group
• Organizational Review Task Group

Contact Information

Branch President and Provincial Board Representative: Maria DeRubeis, Windsor