Gender Expansive Network Demanding Equitable Rights (GENDER)

Gender Expansive Network Demanding Equitable Rights (GENDER) is a workgroup originating in 2022 inspired by the RAACE (Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change, & Equity) taskforce as a response to a culture of inequity in the VCU School of Social Work toward transgender, gender expansive and sexual minority students, faculty and staff. The purpose of this group is to increase the capacity of the VCU School of Social Work to support transgender and gender expansive students, faculty and staff and contribute to a workforce that provides transgender and gender expansive care.

Goals

As a body, we aim to:

• Assess the School of Social Work’s capacity and effectiveness in supporting transgender and gender expansive students, faculty and staff.
• Develop an action plan, informed by the assessment, to strengthen the School of Social Work’s capacity to be a gender-affirming learning and working environment.
• Make recommendations about how to leverage and mobilize resources and expertise in the School of Social Work to move the action plan forward.
• Communicate to the broader School of Social Work about efforts underway to increase our capacity to be a gender-affirming learning and working environment.
• Work collaboratively with RAACE to further social justice goals.

Co-chairs

• Nicole O-Pries, M.S.W., LCSW, associate professor in teaching
• Van Vox, M.S.W., program specialist, Marsha & Marian’s Neighbors

Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change and Equity (RAACE)

The School of Social Work's Radical Alliance for Anti-Racism, Change and Equity (RAACE) was formed in 2020 to address racial injustice – past and present – in social work. The group is engaged in an iterative process that is assessing various parts of the school and is developing recommendations for cultural and structural shifts with a focus on racial justice and healing. This body includes representation from staff, faculty, students, alumni and adjunct instructors.

RAACE, formed in response to concerns about the school's history of perpetuating anti-Black racism, is committed to proactive cultural shifting within the institution. This body includes representation from staff, faculty, students, alumni and community-embedded faculty. Through learning, dialogue and anti-oppressive practices, RAACE members seek to de-center traditional structures of white supremacy and provide feedback to better align school policies with values of racial and social justice. Emphasizing continuous learning and community engagement, RAACE aims to create a collaborative path forward for the school.

Our commitments

• Providing feedback to the administration
• Community-building 
• Improving students' access to resources 

Goals

• Shift the culture of the school from reactive to proactive engagement with social injustices.
• Create opportunities for learning and dialogue around issues of race and difference.
• Evaluate school policies, practices and curricula to encourage better alignment with values centered on racial and social justice.
• Foster a sense of community and inclusivity among students, alumni, staff and faculty.
• Collective work and responsibility
• Build community through an ethic of care.

Members

Student fellows, 2024-25
Reem Shawkat, Ph.D. student (co-chair)
Katie Kim, Ph.D. student 
Sarai Goodwin, B.S.W. student

Alumni, 2024-25
Samantha Cain, M.S.W. (co-chair)
Yusuf Ansari, M.S.W. 

Student Fellows, 2023-24
Reem Shawkat, Ph.D. student (chair)
Katie Kim, Ph.D. student 
Samantha Cain, M.S.W. student
Yusuf Ansari, M.S.W. student
Sarai Goodwin, B.S.W. student

Faculty and Staff, 2024-25
Cortney Calixte, M.S.W, community-embedded faculty
Stephanie Odera, Ed.D., B.S.W. Program director and associate professor in teaching
Adrienne Baldwin-White, Ph.D., assistant professor
Kimberly Compton, Ph.D., assistant professor in teaching