Plenary: Exploring AI in Social Work Practice: Challenges, Opportunities, and What Comes Next
1 Social Work Credit
Social work is entering a new era of practice as AI tools become part of our professional landscape. This session offers a conversation about what AI means for social workers, drawing on current research and practitioner perspectives to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping practice today. Participants will leave with a clearer sense of how to approach AI with curiosity and critical thinking as we consider what comes next for the profession.
Johanna Creswell Báez, PhD, LCSW
Assistant Professor & MSW Director
University of Colorado, Social Work Department, Colorado Springs
Johanna Creswell Báez, PhD, LCSW, is an Assistant Professor and MSW Director at the University of Colorado. Her work explores trauma-informed practice and technology in social work. She studies AI use in social work and co-leads the Grand Challenge to Harness Technology for Social Good. She co-authored the book 30 Essential Skills for the Qualitative Researcher, and is Associate Editor for the journal Qualitative Health
Yvonne Elder Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW
President, National Association of Social Workers
Associate Professor, University of Alaska
Yvonne Elder Chase, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, is Professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She received her PhD from Norfolk State University and her MSW from Howard University. Her extensive leadership experience at the NASW chapter and national levels included: president of the Alaska chapter, member of the boards of NASW and the NASW Assurance Services, Inc., chair of the NASW National Committee on Inquiry and the Task Force on Professional Review; member of the NASW Foundation Gosnell Memorial Scholarship Panel and the NASW Competence Certification Commission renamed the Credentialing Committee. Currently she serves as board member & treasurer, NASW Assurance Services, Inc. Organizational affiliations include the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice (Formerly American Orthopsychiatry Association), and editorial board for the Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. Chase has obtained the LCSW in the State of Alaska and holds NASW’s ACSW credential.
