2025 NASW-MO Virtual Conference

Ms. Terri Cooley-Bennett is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (MO), a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (KS), a Co-occurring Disorders professional diplomate, and a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. She is in the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program at Tulane University School of Social Work (TSSW) and participates in the Teaching Fellowship program. Ms. Cooley-Bennett has worked with vulnerable populations and with individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance use, sexual exploitation, trauma, poverty, and other vulnerabilities. She works for Swope Health in the Behavioral Health Department and has a variety of duties such as providing psychiatric evaluations for clients. She is a Cultural Employee Resource Group (ERG) Core Member, a member of the Behavioral Health Licensure and Supervision Committee, and a member of other community groups and committees.

Ms. Cooley-Bennett has over 20 years of experience as a presenter, workshop leader, and educator. She is on the ethics committee of the Missouri Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and trained with the National NASW Office of Ethics and Professional Review. She provides workshops and ethics training for organizations such as the Missouri Coalition for Behavioral Healthcare, the Missouri National Association of Social Workers, the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare Continuing Education Program, the Missouri Credentialing Board, and others. She presented nationally for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) National Conference, and the National HealthCare for the Homeless Conference. She provides field instruction for social work students and clinical supervision for professionals seeking licensure. She has been an Adjunct Professor for the City Vision University Addictions Counseling Program and the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare.

Annie Handley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, educator, and therapist with over 17 years of experience serving individuals and communities in the Kansas City area. A former teacher, Annie is deeply committed to lifelong learning and personal growth, both for herself and for those she serves. Her professional passion lies in empowering others through education, training, and compassionate clinical care.

Annie has provided community-based trainings on a wide range of topics, including HIV care, grief and loss, leadership development, gerontology, and LGBTQIA+ issues. Her expertise in these areas is informed by years of hands-on experience, and she is dedicated to advancing understanding and providing support for diverse populations.

In addition to her community work, Annie operates a private telehealth practice, offering therapy and clinical services to clients across Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. Through her practice, she provides a safe, supportive space for individuals to navigate personal challenges, mental health concerns, and life transitions.

Lynne Schmidt, LCSW is the queer, neurodivergent grandchild of a Holocaust survivor and a therapist with a focus in trauma and healing. They obtained their Master of Social Work in 2020 from the University of New England with Trauma Informed and Emotion Focused Therapy-1 Certificates. Lynne has been awarded the 2025 Maine Artist Fellowship for their poetry on the shooting event in Lewiston Maine and is the author of The Unaccounted for Circles of Hell, SexyTime, which was a winner of the 2021 The Poetry Question Chapbook Contest, Dead Dog Poems was the 2020 New Women's Voices Contest, and Gravity, which has been listed as One of the Best Breakup Books of All Time by Book Authority. Lynne has presented at NASW and NAMI State Branches for their presentations, “There’s Been An Active Shooter – Now What?” “Addressing The Dog In The Room” and “How Reading And Writing Poetry Makes Better Clinicians.” When given the choice, Lynne prefers her pack of dogs and one cat to humans.

Ashley Phillips is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years in the field of mental health and non-profits. Ashley specializes in Trauma Treatments including Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing  (EMDR), Trauma-Focused- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Child Parent Psychotherapy. As the Chief Clinical Officer at The Guidance Center, Ashley dedicates her time helping to improve accessibility and quality of mental health services in Leavenworth, Atchison, and Jefferson County.  Ashley is passionate about Suicide Prevention and working with children and families to heal from life's deepest hurts.

Throughout his career, Dan Ferris has led initiatives in settings ranging from offices of government affairs, community public health organizations, and academic research institutes. In his role at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Dan applies his experience through his teaching, research, and commitment to policy practice. As the Brown School’s inaugural Assistant Dean for Policy Initiatives, Dan expanded the Master of Social Policy Dual-Degree program and supported student-learning opportunities through a range of offerings including legislative internship programs. 

He currently is the Associate Director for Policy Training and Education Innovation for the Social Policy Institute at Washington University Institute, where his role supports emerging leaders in policy practice and research through innovative training programs such as the Graduate Policy Scholars program, the JPMorgan Chase Doctoral Scholars, a Cigna Foundation Fellowship Program in Equitable Philanthropy, and Data for Social Impact, supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. His research interests focus on participation as he examines system-level barriers and disparities alongside opportunities for program innovation and policy change surrounding food insecurity and food is medicine in the U.S. Specifically, Dan has served as the lead investigator for multiple studies examining food is medicine interventions during pregnancy, a Type 2 Diabetes Medically Tailored Meals program, WIC, and school meals programs.  

Dan has taught graduate-level courses in social welfare, policy analysis, legislative advocacy, and health care at New York University, the Touro Graduate School of Social Work, and Washington University in St. Louis. He received his Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy from New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and his PhD in Public and Social Policy from Saint Louis University. 

Jewel Stafford serves as the Assistant Dean of the Office of Education, and her work focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating racial equity initiatives with students, faculty, and community partners. As a teaching professor, her primary areas of scholarship are racial equity, reproductive health inequities, intimate partner violence, social policy, and community-based participatory research. Her current work explores the influence of acculturation and racial socialization on reproductive health outcomes for black communities. 

As the Director of the Racial Equity Fellowship program, she led three cohorts of students through a region-specific curriculum in varied community field placements. She continues collaborating with researchers and developing community-based training and curriculum for community members. Before joining the Brown School, she was a research coordinator on NIH-funded grants, administering multiple community-based public health research projects and collaborating with community leaders and researchers to develop culturally appropriate evaluation tools and assessments. 

As a social worker, she utilizes her skills, community-engaged scholarship, and research experience to work with diverse populations to drive policy, promote partnerships, and improve health outcomes.

Dr. Tasha M. Childs, PhD, MSW, LMSW is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Missouri and a licensed social worker (OH, SC, AK-pending) formally trained as a school social worker with social work practice experience as a crisis counselor and group facilitator. She received her Bachelor of Education (2017) and Master of Social Work (2019) from Ohio State University and then completed her doctorate in social work at the University of South Carolina (2023). Her research focuses on eliminating racial inequities in schools by examining the contributions of teacher racial bias, leveraging school social workers in schools and youth-serving organizations, and creating equitable access to mental health services and support. She has collaborated with schools across the past six years in Utah, Ohio, New York, and South Carolina to improve students’ access to mental health services and implement expanded school improvement models. During her time at the University of South Carolina, she supported the evaluation and dissemination of results from two HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce and Education Training grants. Most recently, she has served on the HOPE-WWR team focused on addressing behavioral and health worker burnout and promoting resiliency in the health workforce. Together, she uses her experience in these roles working closely with faculty, staff, and community partners to prepare and provide continuing education for health professionals practicing with children and families.

Sophia Raju is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri, with a strong passion for mental health research. Her academic focus lies in exploring the intersection of adverse childhood experiences and suicide prevention. Committed to advocating for holistic mental health approaches, she aspires to drive meaningful policy changes and develop evidence-based interventions to improve mental health outcomes.

Dr. Renee White has been a professional social worker for 40 years. She has taught in both BSW and MSW programs at three universities. She developed the ME to WE Workbook for teaching social work students and community members the requisite skills in social justice and advocacy for grassroots organizing.

Dr. Lisa Street is Associate Professor of Practice and DSW Capstone

Coordinator at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. Dr.

Street has been an educator for 16 years with practice experience in

medical social work, adoptions, juvenile justice, community-based drug

courts, and social work administration.

Tamitha R. Ague, ACSW, CSWM, LBSW-IP, BSBA, is the CEO/Owner of Right Directions, LLC providing consulting services in organizational management, grant writing, legislative lobbying, and equine leadership.  Right Directions, LLC also has a DBA as Double Hearts Ranch at Mark Twain Lake, Monroe City, Missouri which is a unique “B&B” camping and interactive equine experience for groups, organizations, corporations, and individuals.  Ms. Ague currently lobbies for the Missouri Psychological Association on telehealth and professional services.  She has experience as a City Administrator, Branch Director, and non-profit CEO from domestic violence to foster children.  She is formerly the Executive Director for over 22 years with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – Missouri Chapter and three years concurrently with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – Alaska Chapter.  

During her career, Ms. Ague has gained valuable knowledge and practice skills to serve in the Executive Director’s capacity for the association and social service organizations.  Her previous professional experience includes direct service to a variety of populations from the elderly to children while serving in numerous capacities including Social Service Director for a nursing center and Client Services Director for legal services.  Ms. Ague has acquired undergraduate teaching experience as an adjunct faculty for Missouri Western State College where she instructed Philosophy and Policy for the social work program, Missouri Baptist University, St. Louis, Missouri instructing the Introduction to Human Services for the four-year Human Services and Organizational Behavior for the Business Administration degrees and Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Missouri instructing Social Welfare Policy and Human Service Administration for their undergraduate Human Services program.  She is a registered lobbyist with the state of Missouri and has successfully advocated for the passage of numerous bills affecting the social work profession and social service issues statewide.  

She holds bachelor’s degrees in social work and business administration from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and a master’s in social work from Saint Louis University School of Social Service in St. Louis.  In 2018, she completed her certification as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Missouri.

Rachel Hulstein-Lowe, (she/her) is a gender diversity expert, parent coach, writer, and speaker, who helps trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth find their most authentic, confident selves, while also assisting their parents to move from anxiety to empowerment.

With over 20 years of experience as a licensed therapist, she has helped hundreds of kids feel more inspired. Her Positive Parenting Method™ has similarly helped hundreds of parents move from feeling overwhelmed to secure in their family relationships.

As the proud parent of two kids, her eldest being nonbinary, she is deeply committed to changing hearts and minds about trans youth. To this end, she is writing a book based on interviews with cis parents of gender-expansive youth from all over the country that intends to expand the dialogue about these kids and the people who love them.