Dr. Angela Henderson’s commitment to creating a national dialogue about the challenges and needs of social workers and their clients helped create a seat at the table for her as a Black Community Stakeholder with the White HouseOffice of Public Engagement. Henderson, assistant professor of social work in the College of Arts and Sciences, was selected after a successful “Social Workers for Biden-Harris” virtual event, which she organized in October 2020. 她现在每周或每两周参加一次与白宫官员的会议。

“I feel a responsibility to bring the profession to the table—the issues and the success stories,” Henderson said. “Social workers are on the front lines addressing issues that impact our clients, including affordable housing, employment, hospice care, immigration and social justice.”

Henderson and other Black Community Stakeholders meet virtually with White House Senior Advisor for Public Engagement Trey Baker and various administration leaders, including a conversation with Vice 总统 Kamala Harris and 总统 Biden’s Senior Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond. 这些会议涵盖了广泛的议题，包括对少数族裔大学的支持、儿童税收抵免、海地难民在边境的待遇以及基础设施问题。

白宫的公众参与办公室负责在拜登-哈里斯政府和不同人群之间建立和协调直接沟通，以实现包容和透明的问责制。

“The speakers will bring various topics of interest to us,” Henderson said. “We discuss whatever is going on at the time. It means a lot to me to represent the social work and Black community and make sure we are abreast of topics that impact different aspects of our lives.”

Henderson believes in sharing the access that she’s gained with students and colleagues. 在白宫讨论最高法院大法官杰克逊（Ketanji Brown Jackson）的问题时，她让亚洲博彩网站的社会工作、政治学和法学学生提出问题，然后带回会议。

“They were excited about getting questions from students to gain a different perspective,” Henderson said. “I’m looking forward to meeting in person and having the opportunity to bring some of my students to the White House with me.”

作为一名黑人社区利益相关者，亨德森与她的邮件列表中的4000人分享信息，并使用社交媒体提供与高级员工和专家就影响黑人社区的问题进行会议的事实和统计数据。

“I share information with the social work community and others on social media to ensure that people have as much information as possible from a policy perspective,” Henderson said. “Social workers are the ones carrying out the policies. If we can reach the child who experiences trauma before becoming an adult, we will have a greater impact.”

亨德森说，她最初的参与是在认识到政治候选人向教师、警察工会和其他团体伸出援手，了解他们的问题后开始的，但社会工作者往往被忽视。

“The work for social workers never stopped during Covid,” she said. “Social workers had to go into homes and check on children and the elderly even when there was a PPE shortage. They are also the ones dealing with family issues and providing counseling support for the bigger societal issues while serving in one of the lowest-paid professions.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental 卫生服务 政府 (SAMHSA), professional social workers are the nation’s largest group of mental health services providers. There are more clinically trained social workers—over 200,000—than psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses combined.

亨德森一生致力于倡导社会和环境正义。 她担任过各种角色，从个案工作到倡导者。 她是Asher Services的首席执行官，在那里她提供政治分析、研究服务、立法起草和解决方案。 亨德森也是国会社会工作与政策研究所（CRISP）的联合创始人。

2016年，亨德森与奥巴马政府和美国卫生与公众服务部一起呼吁采取行动，讨论社会工作社区在维护《平价医疗法案》方面的领导作用。 2018年，她被任命为弗吉尼亚州保护和娱乐委员会成员。

亨德森是全国社会工作者协会的成员； Emerge致力于招募、培训和联系民主党女性，让她们竞选民选公职； 长春藤联盟和Delta Sigma Theta姐妹会。 她热衷于教育青年，并担任过许多学生的导师。