Center for Diversity Webinar Series
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The Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice provides social work education with the opportunity to support greater diversity and social and economic justice in education, teaching, research, curricula, and leadership development.
The Center is also a resource to prepare social workers with the knowledge and skills to engage in effective practice with diverse populations and to help transform social systems in pursuit of more humane and equitable conditions.
Our foundation for this learning:
We are concerned with increasing an understanding of the richness of people’s cultural backgrounds and perspectives along ethnoracial, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, religious, and other intersectional dimensions.
We strive to develop critical awareness of conditions of social injustice and their consequences, with a focus on economic and environmental injustice, including the role of social exclusion as a mechanism of oppression.
The Center provides a library of resources for practice with diverse populations as a resource for educators, students, practitioners, and policy makers, along with educational resources to respond to emerging social issues.
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Contains 5 Component(s), Includes Credits
The Center for Diversity Advisory Board was formed to advise and support the continued success and activities of the Center by collaborating with and supporting CSWE staff and the Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice Scholar in content development, dissemination, and presentations. Advisory Board will be hosting a series of webinars in 2026 for CSWE members on topics related to Diversity and Social & Economic Justice.
In this webinar, we hope to explore curiosity as an approach to relationships and professional practice that aligns with social work ethics and values. Together, we will consider how integrating curiosity into conversations can encourage deeper understanding across dimensions of difference. Our aim is to prepare students not only to lead, but to listen—to engage in dialogue that builds bridges, sustains meaningful exchange, and cultivates collaborative solutions in complex environments. Participants will help answer whether curiosity can be integrated as a practice model that honors individual dignity and worth, clarifies values, and acknowledges areas vulnerability and risks for those involved.
In this webinar participants will:
1. Define “curious” conversations.
2. Explain how curiosity supports ethical, competent social work practice across multiple dimensions of difference.
3. Apply curiosity-based strategies at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels that integrates dignity and worth of the person, social justice, and professional competence to engage disagreement without dismissing accountability or equity.Lissa Schwander, PhD., LMSW, IDI, QA
Program Director at Central Michigan University, Center for Diversity Advisory Board Member
Dr. Schwander is a social work educator and practitioner with over 20 years of experience in a variety of fields of practice including social work practice with women and children, housing and homelessness and medical social work. She served as the Field Education Director from 2019-2025, and now serves as the Program Director.
Yarneccia D. Dyson, Phd., MSW
Dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, Center for Diversity Advisory Board Member
Dr. Dyson is the Dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, where she provides visionary leadership at a pivotal moment for the profession. A nationally respected academic leader, Dr. Dyson is recognized for advancing innovation, strengthening institutional culture, and positioning colleges and schools of social work for excellence, impact, and sustainability.
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Contains 5 Component(s), Includes Credits
The Center for Diversity Advisory Board was formed to advise and support the continued success and activities of the Center by collaborating with and supporting CSWE staff and the Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice Scholar in content development, dissemination, and presentations. Advisory Board will be hosting a series of webinars in 2026 for CSWE members on topics related to Diversity and Social & Economic Justice.
This webinar is a part of the Center for Diversity and Economic and Social Justice webinar series.
This webinar examines artificial intelligence and its implications for social work education, ethics, cultural humility, and social justice. It is a space for an exchange of ideas on AI literacy and technology integration. Shared will be the ongoing journey—strategies and struggles— we, at Hawaii Pacific University, contend with as we weave AI tools into our program.
In this webinar participants will:
1. Examine the implications of generative AI for social work education and practice through critical lenses of culture, ethical mandate, and community context.
2. Identify strategies for adapting curriculum and assessment to develop AI-literate practitioners who can use technology in culturally respectful, contextually relevant, and ethically grounded ways.
3. Formulate a proactive framework for AI integration in social work programs that centers professional values, Indigenous knowledge, and community well-being.Peter Mataira
Phd
Dr. Peter Mataira is of Māori descent from Aotearoa New Zealand and a professor of social work at Hawaiʻi Pacific University in Honolulu. His current work is at the forefront of co-designing and developing AI/ML tools to enhance Pacific and Indigenous health equity and wellbeing. Through collaborative work with colleagues from Data Sciences, his research bridges Hawaiian, Pacific, and Indigenous knowledge systems with advanced technology, advocating data sovereignty and decolonization not as abstract concepts, but as essential design principles for a just equitable technological future.