DSW grad elected to lead NASW-CA committee nominations

After attending the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) California Annual Conference in 2025, Chelsea Taber-Cory decided she could do more to shape the organization’s mission of advancing the social work profession and supporting members in their career development and social work practice. In 2026, she was elected to lead committee nomination and leadership identification efforts for NASW California.

In her new position, she empowers other social workers to take on leadership roles, fostering conversations about the impact individuals can have on the social work profession. Though her personal background is in school social work, Taber-Cory’s experience in Tulane’s Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program showed her the importance of insights from professionals in a vast array of social work practice areas.

“In Tulane’s DSW program, I had the honor of learning from social workers with diverse specialties and lived experiences, including those from across the country, which I found particularly insightful.”

In Tulane’s DSW program, I had the honor of learning from social workers with diverse specialties and lived experiences, including those from across the country, which I found particularly insightful.

Chelsea Taber-Cory, DSW, LCSW

Taber-Cory’s DSW research directly informs her social work leadership and practice. It centers school social workers in California, exploring the impact secondary caregivers and school support personnel can have on the trajectory of an adolescent’s life – alleviating the impacts of systemic oppression and reducing dropout rates.

Taber-Cory also conducted a conceptional review of California’s Senate Bill 224, which mandates age-appropriate mental health education for students in grades 1 through 12. In addition to looking at the bill’s impact on students, she investigated social worker burnout, workforce sustainability, and the resources necessary to support such policy.

“One thing became clear to me: we need to support future generations of social workers in their confidence to advocate not only for their clients but also for themselves,” Taber-Cory said. “We make an impact, and we deserve a seat at the table to advocate for fair wages, union protections, and adequate staffing levels to support the well-being of our communities for generations to come.”

In her new role with NASW California, she will champion improved resources for social workers – which she says will ultimately allow them better serve their communities. Those populations, Taber-Cory believes, should be at the heart of everything NASW does.

“As a profession, we have to uphold our ethical commitments to clients and the limits of our competence, and we have to invite people who aren't usually at the table to inform our decisions,” Taber-Cory said. “Failing to do that silences the very voices our profession has committed to amplify.”

To her peers in California and across the nation, she has just one message: “Your voice matters.”