by Mary Jo Monahan
Mary Jo Monahan 2018
Mary Jo Monahan, CEO of the Association of Social Work Boards
I think I was born a social worker. Today, I hold an enduring respect and wonder at the importance of my chosen profession and am grateful for such a fulfilling career: 48 years in the profession and licensed for 38 years. I will be retiring on April 30, 2020, from being the CEO at the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). As I look forward to what I am calling my “preferment,” I wanted to share how my career has allowed me to prepare for this transition, so others may also consider how they are readying for what poet and philosopher John O’Donohue calls a “decisive threshold or crossing.”
In Bless the Space Between Us (2008), O’Donohue shares this invitation to those entering retirement:
Now is the time to enjoy your heart’s desire,
To live the dreams you’ve waited for,
To awaken the depths beyond your work
And enter into your infinite source.
Turning “retirement” into “preferment” gives me the freedom and inspiration to move on to the next best thing - and on to more lessons to be learned.
My social work career, to date, has spanned almost five decades. During that time, I have served individuals from generations born before me to those born after me, up to and including Gen Z. Hopefully, the policy-making I have participated in will extend my service for generations to come.
A defining experience for me as a first-year MSW student occurred on my first day of field. The social workers, including the field supervisors, were protesting outside in solidarity with their clients to form an action group of mothers for fair welfare. The students faced a challenge: Stand with them or go inside the building on their own. I believe the students made the right social work decision by joining the protest. My identity began that day as a social worker actively living the values of my profession, particularly integrity and a commitment to social justice.
Following graduation, the first half of my career focused on clinical work with individuals and groups; supervisory work with staff and students; and policy work with neighborhoods, nonprofits, funders, and donors. I engaged in micro practice within a macro policy perspective. I began teaching in the MSW program at a local school of social work. In these early years, I learned as much or more from my Gen X students.
A near-death experience in 1998 prepared me for the second half of my career. I was in South America on a five-week exchange trip when I fell off a horse and broke my back. My year of recovery set the stage for me to become more future-focused, bold, and brave as a social worker.
I realized that my favorite social work roles are teacher and supervisor, and that supervision serves as succession planning for the profession. I shifted to working with the next generations of social work change-makers. As CEO of a social services agency, I engaged in policy and administrative practice. I continued to teach, focusing on supervising staff and students. I discovered the importance of licensing and regulation and was appointed to the Florida social work licensure board, serving as the representative to ASWB.
In 2013, I became CEO of ASWB, where my focus has been on developing collaborative relationships with the other “pillars of the profession,” NASW and CSWE, to further acceptance of social work as a licensed profession and understanding of the value of social work regulation. Under my leadership, ASWB developed its Path to Licensure program and expanded its services to the regulatory community. These value-based outreach efforts are influencing additional generations and will continue as part of ASWB’s strategic framework.
As I look forward to beginning my preferment, I found advice from Leigh Wintz, FASAE, CAE, worth sharing: “Follow your passions - if you love your vocation, think about how you might redesign your role in your work community” (Feb. 3, 2020). I look forward to finding new ways of serving my communities, enriching my profession, and sharing my knowledge, particularly with social workers, in a meaningful way. My preferment challenge is to continue my life of satisfaction by living my faith and social work values.
References
O’Donohue, J. (2008). Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Convergent Books.
Wintz, L. (Feb. 3, 2020). Include passion and vision in your retirement plan. https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2020/january/include-passion-and-vision-in-your-retirement-plan
Mary Jo Monahan, MSW, LCSW, is the chief executive officer of the Association of Social Work Boards.