OASW Honours Four Outstanding Social Workers with 2020 and 2021 Awards

OASW is honoured to have recognized the following individuals at our 2021 Annual General Meeting on May 14, 2021.

2020 OASW Lifetime Achievement Award | Dr. Marion Bogo

OASW’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a social worker whose values, accomplishments and career reflect a passion, commitment and distinguished contribution to the profession, and who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and made contributions of lasting impact to social work in Ontario. 

OASW was pleased to recognized Dr. Marion Bogo as the 2020 recipient of this distinguished award. An outstanding leader, Dr. Bogo has had lasting and significant impacts as both an educator and expert. She has transformed social work education and practice both in Canada and across the globe, instituting major innovations that have led to the development of new knowledge and ground-breaking programs. Dr. Bogo’s research and development of a holistic model of competence for social work have influenced social work education and the design of simulation-based learning. She has published over 125 journal articles and book chapters and seven books and her research has been disseminated internationally.

2021 OASW Beverley Antle Leadership Award | Kennes Lin

The OASW Beverley Antle Leadership Award recognizes the pivotal and dynamic leadership roles played by social workers in non-traditional, leading-edge positions.

OASW is pleased to honour Kennes Lin as the 2021 recipient of this award. Kennes has demonstrated the possibilities of engaging in traditional social work roles, while simultaneously working towards systemic change. At the young age of 30, she has become an inspiration for Asian activists and community workers. As the co-chair of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, Kennes led the organization during unprecedented times, as the Council worked tirelessly to address the growing violence towards Asian communities and the rise of anti-Asian racism through media and political advocacy. Kennes’ exposure in the media and in the movement has provided the public and the Asian community with a new and inspiring image of what a social worker is and can be in the community. In addition to her advocacy work, she has served as a mental health clinician at the Hong Fook Mental Health Association, where she most recently took on the role of Lead in Youth and Family Services.

2021 OASW Inspirational Leader Award | Candace Hind and Julie Hayden

The OASW Inspirational Leader Award is presented to social workers whose current contribution to the profession inspires others and whose professional conduct serves as a role model for those working in the field of social work. This year, OASW is pleased to recognize two outstanding social workers with this award.

Candace Hind is a sought-after expert in gerontology, who is currently completing a PhD in Social Work with an emphasis on meeting the needs of aging populations. During 2021 Social Work Week, Candace shared her expertise and insights with OASW members and students through an engaging seminar, Is Social Work Essential in Long-Term Care? As a long-time instructor in social work programs at the University of Windsor, Candace has shown a passion and dedication for student engagement, inspiring countless students to pursue careers in working with seniors. She was also pivotal in establishing the local Social Workers in Gerontology group. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Candace has made essential contributions on the front lines in long-term care, and has worked beyond the bounds of her own working hours to ensure that residents, colleagues, peers, friends and family feel less alone.

Julie Hayden is the Executive Director at Dialectical Living, an organization that offers Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to individuals, their families, agencies and clinicians. Julie’s use of technology to offer virtual DBT skills groups was in place pre-pandemic, and has since expanded to include a go-at-your-own-pace DBT School. Julie leverages technology and creativity to provide DBT education in engaging, interactive and accessible formats. Over the past year, she has created and shared a video series on DBT, published a DBT skills colouring book, and a DBT Skills reminder booklet available on Amazon. She is currently working on a documentary entitled Life on DBT. Since the early months of the pandemic, she has facilitated a weekly Coping with COVID online support group for those who have some familiarity with DBT skills. Julie provides leadership, mentorship, and capacity-building capacity to assist in the delivery of DBT skills groups, including people with lived experience. She has also spent countless unpaid hours helping organizations in Canada and abroad learn to bring their programs online.

OASW congratulates Dr. Marion Bogo, Kennes Lin, Candace Hind and Julie Hayden on their outstanding leadership and contributions to the field. Upon receiving their awards, Marion, Kennes, Candace and Julie shared words of thanks and inspiration with attendees of OASW’s virtual Annual General Meeting, and you can now access OASW’s AGM recording to hear from these four remarkable leaders.