Department of Social Work
CSUMB MSW Students Participate in Statewide Lobby Days Event in Sacramento
On April 7-8, 2019, 55 CSUMB MSW students and Prof. Brian Simmons joined hundreds of other California MSW students and faculty (and other social workers) for the annual NASW-CA Lobby Days event in Sacramento. This was the largest CSUMB group ever to attend this event (a fact that was not lost on the NASW staff). The group convened early Sunday morning at the Sacramento Convention Center and spent the day meeting other lobbyists and learning about the two policy bills and two appropriations measures we were going to be lobbying for on Monday. A number of CSUMB students served as team leaders this year.
Sunday night is always a special part of this event and this year was no exception. Thanks to the efforts of Bianca Archueleta, we all enjoyed a delicious Mexican food meal and each other’s company in a large room that was part of a Sacramento restaurant. (Bianca gets lots of kudos for her efforts in making this whole event happen.)
Monday we all joined our teams and met with legislators and/or their staff members to present the measures for which we were advocating. We joined all the other participants at a rally late Monday morning on the steps of the capital. The feedback has been very positive and many people are looking forward to going back again next year.
Our thanks to the Monterey Unit of NASW and to everyone else who contributed to making this event as successful as it was.