Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961): Social Worker, Reformer, Peace Activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient by Catherine A. Paul Emily Greene Balch was an American economist, sociologist, and pacifist. She was born January 8, 1867 in Boston, Massachusetts to a prominent family, and she attended Bryn Mawr College from 1886 until 1889, where she studied economics….
Continue Reading »Edith M. Baker (1885-1978): Leader in Medical Social Work Edith M. Baker was the first medical consultant for the U.S. Childrens Bureau. She was a leader in medical social work as well as in the American Association of Medical Social Workers, for which she served as president from 1929 to 1931, and as the first…
Continue Reading »Arthur J. Altmeyer: Architect of the Social Security Administration and President of the National Conference on Social Work by Larry W. DeWitt, Historian, U. S. Social Security Administration Introduction Arthur J. Altmeyer was the man that president Franklin Roosevelt informally referred to as “Mr. Social Security,” and Altmeyer was the key policy and administrative figure in…
Continue Reading »Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) by Catherine A. Paul Susan Brownell Anthony was both February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts and died March 13, 1906 in Rochester New York (Harper, 1998). Anthony helped to wage the battle for suffrage across multiple arenas, including voting booths, religious institutions, workplaces, and homes, and at the intersection of many…
Continue Reading »John Bertram Andrews (1880–1943): Social Reformer, Labor Expert, Economist and Author John Bertram Andrews was an American economist who studied and advocated for progressive labor reform. Born in South Wayne, Wisconsin on August 2, 1880, Andrews studied history and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating in 1904, and at Dartmouth College where he received…
Continue Reading »Mary Anderson (1872-1964): Advocate for Working Women, Labor Organizer and First Director of the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor.
Continue Reading »Joseph P. Anderson (1910-1979) – Settlement Worker, Administrator and First Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Due to his extraordinary vision and distinguished leadership, Joseph Anderson’s pioneering work achieved lasting results. The formation of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) are, in…
Continue Reading »Delwin M. Anderson (1916-2007 ): Director of Social Work Services, U.S. Veterans Administration and NASW Social Work Pioneer Delwin M. (Del) Anderson was director of the Social Work Service of the Department of Medicine and Surgery in the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) from 1964 to 1974. During this time he was responsible for giving overall…
Continue Reading »Grace Abbott (1878 – 1939) – Social Work Pioneer, Reformer, Hull House Resident and Chief of the Children’s Bureau. Article by John Sorensen, Founding Director of the Abbott Sisters Project
Continue Reading »Jacob Riis (May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914): Journalist, Photographer, Social Reformer By Catherine A. Paul “‘Are you not looking too much to the material condition of these people,’ said a good minister to me after a lecture in a Harlem church last winter, ‘and forgetting the inner man?’ I told him, ‘No! For you…
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