Candidate: Nicole Bromfield (English)

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Dr. Nicole Bromfield is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor in the

Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. Her research interests are

globally focused on women and children’s health and social wellbeing, particularly in the global south. Her projects are driven by community needs and with outcomes focusing on positive social policy change. She holds an MSW in community organization/social administration and PhD in public policy, focusing on health policy, from Virginia Commonwealth University. Upon completing her doctorate, Dr. Bromfield was a full-time faculty member working with BSW and MSW students at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University. She was also on the team that developed the first MSW program in the Arabian Gulf region. Previously, she served as the program director for an educational capacity building program at the Embassy of the UAE in Washington, D.C., and she also volunteered with resettled refugees. Currently, Dr. Bromfield chairs the MSW curriculum committee at UH and is leading the reaccreditation process. In 2018, she completed a higher education leadership certificate program at Harvard University and she serves as a Commissioner of Educational Policy on the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

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Social work advancement in one country promotes human rights and social justice in all

countries. As a macro-level social work advocate, educator, and researcher with a global focus, a fundamental driver within my own professional mission is the promotion of social policy development to enhance the well-being of every person. I remain steadfast in my commitment to moving social justice forward globally and part of this effort is to further advance the development of social work education that includes educational capacity building, especially in world regions where social work is an emerging profession. As an educator who has extensive experience teaching social work in the global south, in a nation in which social work is an emerging profession, I have first-hand lived participation and knowledge of how quickly positive shifts in promoting social justice, human rights, and people’s well-being, take root when students receive an inclusive and internationally, as well as locally, supported social work education, grounded in social work values appropriate to the local context and that maximize indigenous social work knowledge. A core strength of our profession is our global alignment of principles, where each country and each person matters, and the IASSW is one pillar of this global alignment. IASSWs vision to promote and develop “excellence in social work education, research and scholarship across the globe, in pursuit of a more just and equitable world” aligns with my own professional mission, to which I have personally, and in practice, dedicated myself. The localization and indigenization of

social work is critical, and I believe, required for education capacity building. The development of local practice wisdom is essential in moving the profession forward. Given the opportunity, if I were elected to the Board of Directors of IASSW, I would coordinate and collaborate with stakeholders to further the Global Standards for the Education and Training within the Social Work Profession. Working to further strengthen the IASSW capacity building activities, grounded in a context that is locally relevant and culturally appropriate, would remain a cornerstone of my efforts. Each country brings value to the world, as well as needed local expertise. My experience in having been involved in social work curricula development and research in Eastern and Western contexts and having served in leadership as a Commissioner for a national social work education accreditor (CSWE) has provided me a unique lens to robustly engage in this endeavor with others.

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