During the 30th annual event, participants from 18 different states learned how social workers can step into political roles and better their communities
More than 20 guests presented or participated in panels and roundtable discussions during the Campaign School, held Feb. 27-28 at the UConn School of Law in Hartford. Pictured, from left, is Shannon Lane, director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work; UConn School of Social Work Adjunct Instructor Ayesha Clarke '06, LMSW, MPH; and Luisa Lopez, executive director of the Latino Social Work Coalition and Scholarship Fund. (Olivia Drake/UConn photo)
More than 165 social workers, students, and advocates from across the country gathered for the 30th Annual Campaign School for Social Workers, a two-day intensive training hosted by the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work at the UConn School of Social Work.
Held Feb. 27-28 at the UConn School of Law in Hartford, the Campaign School brought together emerging and seasoned leaders committed to strengthening democracy, amplifying community voices, and harnessing the power of political engagement to further social justice in their communities. Now in its 30th year, the Campaign School has trained more than 3,000 alumni on how to step into political roles as candidates, advocates, and civic leaders.
"Through the Campaign School, we teach social workers how to be leaders within our political systems and how to change those systems to make them more just,"said Shannon Lane, director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work and professor-in-residence. "Participants leave the School with the skills to determine their first steps toward political and community engagement."
Participants traveled from across the United States, representing 18 states from Arkansas to Wisconsin. They engaged lessons on the inner workings of electoral campaigns, campaign strategy, messaging, fundraising, ethical decision-making, building networks, supporting diverse representation, building political power, political social work research, and community organizing.
As a first-year MSW student enrolled in the School's Political Social Work course, Anna Lee '28 was required to attend the school. But she had full intentions of being there before the spring semester even started. "Actually, I signed up for the event before enrolling in the class," Lee said. "The event was energizing. It significantly widened my view of what social workers can achieve and allowed me to network with people I never would have met otherwise."
Lee, who is on the MSW policy practice track, recently retired from a career in medicine as a radiologist. "Being at UConn SSW is a tremendous privilege that has given me a new perspective on my former practice," she said. "I've come to see medicine almost as a specialized subset of social work-one that has, in many ways, lost its way."
Alana Frenkel, who will graduate this May with her MSW from the Individuals, Groups, and Family Practice track, attended the Campaign School for the second time, and she plans to attend every year as an alumna.
The campaign school kicked off on Feb. 27 with a welcome from School of Social Work Dean and Professor Laura Curran and a keynote address-"Consider Yourself Asked-You Belong" led by adjunct Instructor Ayesha Clarke '06, LMSW, MPH, executive director of Health Equity Solutions in Hartford.
"When people hear 'political,' they sometimes tense up. They imagine partisanship, campaigns, elections. But political social work is about understanding that the conditions shaping people's lives - housing, healthcare access, education, immigration policy, maternal health outcomes, insurance coverage - are shaped by systems, and systems are shaped by policy," Clarke said during her talk. "If you work with people, you are already doing political work."
Lane later spoke on "Choosing an Office" and led a roundtable discussion on preparing to run for an elected office. Taylor Tucker '20 BSW, '21 MSW, director of social enterprise at Health Equity Solutions in Hartford, moderated a panel discussion on the importance of building a more representative democracy and Connecticut State Representative Jillian Gilchrest, MSW, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University's School of Social Welfare Jessica Mitchell, LMSW, spoke on fundraising. UConn School of Social Work Associate Professor Caitlin Elsaesser, LISCW, spoke on political social work and led a mindfulness exercise.
On Feb. 28, Clarke led a panel discussion on how social workers use their professional identity, values, and ethics in politics; UConn School of Social Work Ph.D. student Kylie Harrington '20 MSW moderated a panel on political social work around the country; and Deputy Secretary of the State of Connecticut Jennifer Barahona, MSW, spoke on voting and voter contact. Additionally, Charles E. Lewis, Jr., Ph.D., director of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP); Gary Parker, Ph.D., president of Influencing Social Policy (ISP); Dawn Brown, MSW, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in Connecticut and Maine; and Kimberly Hokanson, LCSW, Ph.D., chair of the Political Action for Candidate Election, NASW shared their experience mobilizing social workers for advocacy.
"I found that the panel we witnessed between [Parker, Lewis Jr., Brown, and Hokanson] was a great way to wind down the weekend," Freckle recalled. "The impact that this had can be seen, considering I will most likely be reaching out to Dr. Parker and ISP to get further involved. It was comforting to know that it is possible to start as a volunteer for an organization, and in helping out and being involved, can become something more down the road."
The Campaign School is part of the broader mission of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, founded in 1995 to bolster the political participation of social workers and the communities they serve. Alongside training like the Campaign School, the Institute supports research, advocacy, and nonpartisan civic engagement programs that underscore the role of voting and political involvement as tools for advancing equity and well-being.
"Today, I am asking you to get involved - some way, somehow," Clarke said. "Maybe that means testifying once. Writing public comments. Joining a coalition. Working on a campaign. Encouraging a colleague to run. Hosting a listening session. Learning how policy shapes your daily practice. Registering voters. Helping draft a policy proposal. Political social work is not about doing everything. It is about refusing to do nothing."
View additional photos below, or the full photo gallery at s.uconn.edu/campaignschool2026.
