S23 Homecoming: Advocating for the Profession and the Professional (Virtual Option)

Anthony Estreet, CEO, NASW Related seminars and products

Anthony Estreet

Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

He has been a professor and chair of the Master of Social Work Program at Morgan State University since 2013. Estreet is also founder and chief executive officer of Next Step Treatment Center in Baltimore, which provides substance use treatment and mental health services. He was vice president of the NASW Board of Directors but stepped down from that role after being considered a candidate in the search process. Estreet also served as president of the NASW Maryland Chapter and is an active member of the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Black Social Workers.

While at Morgan, Estreet was awarded more than $6 million in extramural grant funding for social work workforce development, research, and training. He also led the development and expansion of the first MSW program in the United States, and at a historically Black college or university, to have an area of specialized practice focused on addressing substance use disorders.

Lori James-Townes, MSW Related seminars and products

Lori James-Townes, LCSW-C, MSW ’91 
Executive Director at National Association for Public Defense/President, Expand-Now 

Lori James-Townes is President & CEO of Expand-Now. She also serves as an Assistant Training Director for National Association of Public Defense. Lori’s passion is adding value to others. Lori has over 25 years of teaching, clinical practice, leadership, and management experience in juvenile justice, mental health, and public defender settings. Her most recent public defender position was Director of Social Work, Leadership and Program Development, with Maryland Office of Public Defender. With over more than 800 employees, she served as one of the first Directors of Leadership in a public defender setting. While in this position, she demonstrated her ability to help others grow in the areas of teamwork, leadership, and management. She also led the agency’s social work staff, consultants, and interns. 

Lori is certified John Maxwell Trainer, Coach and Speaker. She has developed programs that are now national models for other agencies. In 2015, The Daily Record Newspaper named her as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. As a speaker, she is requested both nationally and internationally. 

Lori has held various leadership positions on national organizations and Boards of Directors. Her commitment to growth has been recognized as organizations have appointed her to serve as Conference Chair for several national conferences and training programs. Lori also serves as a faculty member for national and regional leadership development, trials skills, training, and programs, including but not limited to: National Alliance of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialist Gideon’s Promise, National Legal Aide and Defender Association, Administrative Offices of the Courts (Training Branch), MD Department of Human Services, and other private and non-profit entities. 

Michael Allen, MSW Related seminars and products

Shanda Brown, LMSW Related seminars and products

Shanda Brown, LMSW ’13 
Mid Atlantic Director, The Community Builders 

Shanda is a licensed Social Worker who is committed to advancing vulnerable and oppressed communities. She currently works as a Regional Director for The Community Builders -- a nationally recognized non - profit developer that owns, develops, and manages affordable housing communities.  

In this role, Shanda works to ensure the communities within her region thrive by using housing as a foundation for upward mobility. She works intentionally to ensure individuals and families have access to opportunities that support economic mobility, create community cohesion, and offer access to behavioral health services.  

Shanda also has an extensive history working in permanent supportive housing, with homeless youth, foster care youth, and coordinating services that allow Seniors to age in place.  

S.Colby Peters, PhD, MSW Related seminars and products

Colby has over 10 years of nonprofit experience in operations, development, technology and design, program development, and, most recently, organizational assessment using advanced research and analytic techniques with both quantitative and qualitative data. In addition, she has experience in policy research, development, and analysis, to include research and analysis of Maryland’s disability policies for Heather Mizeur’s gubernatorial campaign in 2014. Colby has shared her talents with many nonprofits in both professional and volunteer capacities, including the Y of Central Maryland, the Light House Shelter in Annapolis, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.

Colby received her Master’s and PhD in social work for the University of Maryland. For her dissertation, Colby developed the first multi-level leadership model and assessment tool rooted in social work values and created for human service organizations.

Colby’s passion for organizational and leadership skill development stems from her belief – supported by research and experience – that with the right communication skills, the application of human service-centered principles of leadership, and some creativity and open-mindedness, non-profit organizations can realize their goals while making the most of available time and resources.