The Jordan Institute for Families
The UNC School of Social Work
The Jordan Institute's blog features the voices of emerging and seasoned leaders on a variety of topics including current events, new programs, big ideas - elevating what matters to them as they work to make change for families in North Carolina and beyond.
In 2025, the Carolina Women’s Center conducted a needs assessment of all UNC undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to understand the experiences, challenges, and needs of student caregivers. NC Caregiving Research Network member, Shelley Kennedy, the Assistant Director at the Women’s Center, wrote a summary of what they learned and shares links to campus resources […]
Highlighting Work from Our New NC Caregiving Research Network The NC Caregiving Research Network brings together researchers and partners to connect and vision about amplifying existing research and expanding our collective work to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina’s caregivers across the life course. In a webinar series to promote caregiving research, network […]
As a social worker and public health professional, Elyse Keefe’s work demonstrates just how broad the field of social work is. For the last five years, Elyse has worked on transportation equity projects to improve safety for bikers and walkers. During our interview, Elyse mentioned key themes of community engagement, systems thinking and systems-level interventions, […]
“The only constant is change.” This pearl of wisdom attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus rings especially true for us today. The changes that we witness locally, nationally, and globally have an enduring impact on each emerging generation. The rapid technological advancements in our society reveal that we are in a new era of human […]
Every day across the United States, thousands of professionals experience bereavement. Many individuals may go through multiple personal losses while at one employer. How we show up for and support employees matters, and bereavement and grief are no exception. When my brother died unexpectedly two years ago, I had hundreds of thoughts go through my […]
The Emotional Weight Youth Workers Carry If you spend any time working in youth programs, you can spot burnout from a mile away. It is the counselor who arrives with a tired smile, the part-time staff member who just pulled an all-nighter studying, the young adult balancing school, family responsibilities, and emotionally intense work with […]
Purpose is the connection between an individual’s values, belief systems, and their contributions to the greater good of society. It is the guiding intention that provides direction and fulfillment. It’s not just about personal ambition; it is the desire to align one’s work with a sense of meaning. Researchers have found that individuals with high […]
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches are based on the idea that there is an influential cycle among thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It was designed to help individuals with depression identify dysfunctional or unhelpful thought patterns and modify those thoughts to influence their mood and behaviors (Beck, 2021). Where do these dysfunctional […]
Matt Sullivan’s unconventional career in social work began in the police force, shifted to earning a Master of Social Work degree (MSW), working with student athletes, and ultimately led to being the Fire Chief of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The story of his career journey is fascinating and inspiring. After earning his MSW, Matt […]
Own Your Influence: An Unconventional Journey to Making an Impact at Work In a video interview with links below, Jordan Institute Advisory Group Member and CEO of Global Simon Group, Sherenne Simon, talks with us about her new book Own Your Influence: An Unconventional Journey to Making an Impact at Work Sherenne talks about her […]
“Perhaps now more than ever, the idea of coming into direct contact with radically different viewpoints– political perspectives, policy approaches, ethical stances– feels more real, more present, and more threatening than ever before” – Alex Rose In our third webinar, Working Across Difference, social worker and Rotary Peace Fellow, Alexandra Rose (UNC MSW ’24) shared […]
She’s leading the way to bring gender equity to the construction trades Link to the Full Interview here Nora Spencer, a graduate of the UNC School of Social Work MSW program, is on a mission to bring gender equity to the construction trades while helping seniors age in place. She sat down with us to […]
“Within this movement, everything we touch we change” – Octavia Butler In our webinar on Social Work leadership during uncertain times, we were joined by Monica Kearney, MSW, Executive Director of Safe Space, a non-profit organization committed to reducing relationship violence and sexual assault in Franklin County, North Carolina. Safe Space provides a shelter for […]
“How do we do power differently, not extract, exploit…how do we be regenerative?” With this call to action, Marisol Jiménez, MSW, concluded her remarks for how social workers can lead through times of change for our first webinar in the Jordan Institute Leadership Initiative. A National Association of Social Workers – North Carolina Chapter (NASW-NC)-award-winning […]
Most of us will either give or receive caregiving support during our lifetimes. In fact, caregiving is a reality for 1 in 5 U.S. adults according to 2018 CDC data. With many of our youth, adults, and elderly populations living with serious illnesses, managing disabilities, or requiring intensive support, caregiving is not a personal or […]
Caregiving across the lifecourse happens in many different forms, intensity and time frames. While caring for people with serious illnesses and people who are aging is getting much needed attention, there are many other caregiving roles we assume over time from caring for newborns to children and youth with special needs, loved ones with chronic […]
The idea of “rest” in the professional world is often synchronous with “need to take a day off”. While this is often certainly true, how many times have you taken a few days off work and returned more overwhelmed and less settled than before you left? Our May Deloris Jordan leadership initiative ‘lunch meet’ session […]
“History equips us not to predict the future but to meet it more wisely.” (R.T. McKenzie, A Little Book for New Historians, 2019, p. 30.) With this quote, Dr. Justin Harty, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University, began his keynote for the first event in our new leadership webinar […]
