GCSW Festival of Ideas 2026 Program

Ultimately, this session invites participants to imagine a resilient and equity-centered future for the GCSW, one that strengthens the profession’s capacity to respond to crisis, foster solidarity, and drive transformative change across all levels of society.

2. Human Stories Spotlight: Voices from across GCSW Research, Practice, & Education
LOCATION: Digital Auditorium

Moderator: Shanondora Billiot
Panelists: Kristen Ravi, Amy Krings, Sandra Crew, Taylor Reed-Jones, Durrell Washington 

This session will feature GCSW network members in a series of brief, powerful stories from across the GCSW community, including undergraduate and graduate students, DSW and PhD scholars, faculty, deans, and community practitioners. Together, these narratives illuminate how engagement with the GCSW has shaped learning, teaching, research, and professional practice. Through personal reflections and lived experiences, participants will share how the Grand Challenges have influenced coursework, inspired new forms of community outreach, and deepened understanding of social work’s role in advancing justice and well-being. The session will highlight the human dimensions of social work science; how ideas become action, how education drives impact, and how collective efforts continue to shape the future of the profession.

3. Building Common Ground Through Social Work Science
LOCATION: Blackburn Forum

Moderator: Martell Teasley
Panelists: Jonathan Singer, Tanya Sharpe, Ben Henwood, Sara Bachman, Teri Browne

This panel includes leaders from across the GCSW networks to explore how social work can help shape a more equitable and evidence-informed policy future. Panelists will consider how their networks might re-envision social work approaches and cross-sector collaborations to reflect the values of justice, inclusion, and collective well-being. The discussion will address how social work researchers and practitioners can find common ground across competing political ideologies to ensure that evidence-based knowledge reaches diverse audiences and informs public understanding. Panelists will also share insights into the critical role community partners play in translating research into meaningful action. Finally, the conversation will focus on how social work scholars and advocates are engaging—or could further engage—with local, state, and federal policy platforms to influence systems change and strengthen the voice of social work in shaping the nation’s social agenda.

Moderator: Carrie Pettus
Panelists: Kerianne Flynn, Jon Goldfarb, Mary Ann Ponti

This mainstage event features an exploration of Lilly Ledbetter, a powerful film that captures the human story behind the fight for pay equity and gender justice. The session begins with an introduction from the film’s producer, followed by curated clips that highlight key moments of discrimination, perseverance, and transformation. A moderated discussion will follow with the attorney in the case, connecting Ledbetter’s story to broader questions of how storytelling can drive social and policy change. By bridging personal narrative and institutional strategy, this session illustrates how stories like LillyLedbetter’s can serve as catalysts for translational research and systems change—demonstrating the enduring power of narrative to inform, inspire, and transform social work practice and policy.

Through conversation with the project’s lead architects and participants, this session will illuminate how futures-based methods are being used to prepare social work for the next decade of transformation. Topics will include building resilience and “future readiness” across Grand Challenge networks, applying foresight tools to policy and practice, and engaging communities in shared visioning for social change. Grounded in the principles of power analysis, inclusion, and hope, this discussion invites the social work community to think boldly about what comes next—and how to use futures-oriented strategies to shape the next iteration of GCSW.

2. Community Engagement in the Grand Challenges: Confronting Institutional Barriers & Reimagining Partnership
LOCATION: Blackburn Forum

3. Integrating Across the Grand Challenges: Strategies, Barriers, & New Commitments
LOCATION: Gallery Lounge

Moderator: Lauri Goldkind
Panelists: Alison Wetmur, Dr. Andrea Fiero, Lisa de Saxe Zerden, Michael Dentato, Kelly Bareche
ASL INTERPRETER: Zibora Gilder, MSW

This panel will bring together leaders from the Cross-Cutting Working Groups to explore how the GCSW can strengthen integration across themes, disciplines, and practice domains. Panelists will share strategies for collaboration that bridge topic areas and institutional boundaries, highlighting both the opportunities and the persistent barriers that limit cross-network synergy. Drawing on lessons from other disciplines, the discussion will examine how social work can better translate research and innovation into collective impact—particularly through partnerships that center practitioners and community knowledge. Panelists will identify new commitments for working across silos, aligning research agendas, and co-developing solutions that advance equity and effectiveness. This session will conclude with concrete calls to action for building a more connected, interdisciplinary, and practice-informed Grand Challenges movement—one capable of responding to the complexity of the social issues of our time with creativity, coherence, and courage.

Michael (Mike) Spencer, Hannah Scheuer, Pixie Popplewell, Bonnie Scranton

This kickoff session will spotlight the next generation of social work innovators – students, emerging practitioners, and emerging scholars whose work represents the future of the GCSW and society. Through a series of brief, dynamic presentations, these future leaders will share high-potential projects that address pressing social issues with creativity, rigor, and a commitment to justice.