Third Annual School of Social Work Training and Practice Summit hosted by the Office of Access, Strategic Initiatives, & Support (O.A.S.I.S.)
Theme: Pleasure Activism — Disrupting Martyrdom in Helping Professions
What does sustainable care look like? This year's summit invites social work practitioners, educators, students, and community leaders to examine the cultures of overwork, self-sacrifice, and performance that shape the helping professions — and to imagine a different way forward.
Date: Thursday, Dec. 3
Time: 9:00 AM -1:00 PM
Location: SSW Auditorium, 525 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD 21201
Cost: Free admission — CEUs available at an additional cost.
*MSW students from the University of Maryland may qualify for up to 4 practicum hours for attending. Contact the Office of Practicum Education at practicum@ssw.umaryland.edu for details.
About the Summit
Grounded in pleasure activism, the Third Annual OASIS Summit challenges the expectation that effective care requires personal sacrifice. Through dialogue and reflection, participants will examine how professional norms normalize moral exhaustion, emotional overextension, and the pressure to "perform" care — and what those expectations cost professionals and the communities they serve.
Together, we'll explore a shift away from martyrdom toward care rooted in joy, rest, boundaries, and collective well-being — leaving with practical strategies to sustain ourselves, our work, and more humane helping systems.
Keynote Speaker
- Ronnie L. Taylor
Community Impact Director, FreeState Justice, Inc. and FreeState Equality
Panel 1: Disrupting Martyrdom in Helping Professions
- Chloe Kastner, LMSW
Associate, Center for Social Justice Dialogue, University of Maryland, Baltimore County - Rebecca Davis, MSW
Assistant Director, Center for Restorative Change, University of Maryland School of Social Work - Yvette Conyers, DNP, RN, FNP-C, CTN-B, CFCN, CNE, CWCN-AP, FADLN, FNAP
Associate Dean for Strategic Engagement and Impact; Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing - Oprah Keyes Patterson, LCSW-C
Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Office of Philanthropy, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Panel 2: Moral Exhaustion and the Burden of Performance
- Sameka Turner
Associate Organizer, BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development) - b.a. medina
Director, Bias Incident Support Services, University of Maryland, College Park - Stacey Wilson, LCSW-C
Clinician/Practicum Instructor, Family Connections Baltimore, Center for Restorative Change, University of Maryland School of Social Work
Save Your Spot
Join practitioners, educators, students, and community leaders for a morning of critical dialogue, reflection, and renewal.