A Message from the President: 

Fall 2023 

A Message from the President:

Greetings to all Nebraska School Social Workers!  

The excitement of the coming school year is starting to set in, along with the disbelief that the summer is drawing to a close.  I hope you were all able to spend time with friends and family during the last couple of months, making positive memories as well as taking some time to do some things just for you!  It’s important that we, “the helpers” walk the walk and talk the talk about prioritizing good self-care!

I would like to take a moment to thank outgoing SSWAN board members, Molly Schnabel (past president), Emily Arkfeld (Midwest Council representative and secretary), and Susie Jones (treasurer) for all of their leadership, dedication and service on behalf of SSWAN over the last several years. I am very grateful to them.

I would also like to welcome new SSWAN board members or board members in new roles within SSWAN this year.  These board members include: Whitney Brown (president-elect), Rachel Houston (secretary), Lily Glantz (treasurer), Abby Bjornsen (member-at-large).  I am very excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with all of these new board members.  

It is very important to me that our state’s School Social Workers see our organization as one that recognizes and honors the “calling” that they, as school social workers, have chosen, the calling to serve students, families, and school staff. I want SSWAN to be a place where School Social Workers come together to celebrate their common purpose of service to these groups, as well as feel heard, represented, and supported. SSWAN should be a community where all School Social Workers feel they belong, regardless of the size of the district or ESU they work for, whether they are serving in an urban or rural area, or whether they serve birth to 5, elementary, middle or high school students!

It is clear that our organization is already working toward this goal, as illustrated by our continued growth in membership, particularly that of first time members.  My goal is to continue to build on this momentum, by seeing more and more school social workers joining our organization, as well as members increasing their engagement and involvement in our organization.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our first meeting on September 14th, which will be held virtually.  During the meeting the board will join me in sharing all of the exciting things we have to offer our members during the 2023-2024 school year at the local, regional and state levels as well as the national level! 

Membership sign ups for the 2023-2024 school year will start August 1st. If you wish to join us, feel free to click on the Join SSWAN portion of our website!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any ideas or feedback you might have at admin@sswan.org

Carrie Erks, LICSW

SSWAN President