The Social Worker / Le travailleur social

The Social Worker Interview with Alisha Stubbs

In this episode of The Social Worker Podcast, we speak with Alisha Stubbs as part of CASW’s special series celebrating 100 years of social work in Canada. Alisha’s journey began with a simple but powerful curiosity: why are people’s struggles so often treated as individual, when they are shaped by systems, relationships, access, and opportunity? That question has followed her across developmental services, adult protective services, education, nonprofit leadership, municipal politics, research, and early years advocacy. It has also deepened through her lived experience as a parent navigating autism diagnosis, school systems, funding, advocacy, documentation, and the emotional labour families are often expected to carry alone. Throughout the conversation, Alisha reflects on what it means to practice social work in the tension between policy and ethics, compliance and care, bureaucracy and humanity. She reminds us that systems are not always built with dignity, accessibility, or neuroaffirming practice in mind, but social workers can still move through them with intention, curiosity, and relational accountability. This episode invites us to think about advocacy differently. Sometimes it is public and visible. Sometimes it is quiet, behind-the-scenes work: changing one policy, shifting one conversation, supporting one family, or asking where flexibility might exist inside a system that feels rigid. Alisha leaves listeners with a grounding reminder for the next century of social work: find your people, find your peace, protect what sustains you, and never stop learning.

The Social Worker Interview with Sophia Thomas

In this episode of The Social Worker Podcast, we speak with Sophia Thomas as part of CASW’s special series celebrating 100 years of social work in Canada. Sophia brings us into the realities, complexities, and beauty of rural practice. From growing up in rural Saskatchewan to becoming a social worker, educator, and researcher, Sophia reflects on what it means to work in communities where everyone is connected, resources can be scarce, and social workers are often called to be creative, flexible, and deeply relational. Throughout the conversation, Sophia speaks about the “dance” of rural practice: being both a community member and a service provider, navigating dual roles, building trust, and showing up with humility. She also reflects on the importance of working in meaningful partnership with Indigenous communities, listening first, respecting local knowledge, and allowing community needs to guide the work rather than rigid expectations. Sophia also shares insights from her thesis on the mental health and well-being of post-secondary students in rural Saskatchewan. Her research reminds us that education, isolation, access, culture, stress, and mental health are deeply connected, and that rural students deserve learning environments where they can feel supported, seen, and connected. This episode invites us to reimagine rural social work not as practice with “less,” but as practice that asks for more creativity, more listening, more humility, and more intentional connection.

The Social Worker Interview with Francesca Serwaa

In this episode of The Social Worker Podcast, we speak with Francesca Serwaa as part of CASW’s special series celebrating 100 years of social work in Canada. Francesca brings us into a conversation about mental health, addictions, Black communities, justice, reintegration, representation, and care. She reflects on her path into social work, from her early interest in psychiatry to placements in harm reduction and justice-related spaces that shaped her commitment to supporting people navigating complex systems. Together, we explore what it means to build trust with Black and racialized service users, especially in communities where stigma, silence, and “keeping things in the home” can make accessing support feel difficult. Francesca speaks with honesty about the power of representation, the importance of confidentiality, and the responsibility social workers carry when they are trusted with people’s stories. She also invites us to think differently about advocacy. Not only as protest, policy, or public action, but as the everyday work of connecting someone to support, helping a person reintegrate with dignity, naming barriers, and reminding people that they are not alone. And in a field where we are continuously talking about self-care, Francesca leaves us with a grounding reminder: boundaries are not a failure of care. They are part of how we continue. They are part of how we turn guilt into strength.

The Social Worker Interview with Tyler Coulbourne

What does it mean to practice social work with curiosity, accountability, and the courage to hold more than one truth at a time? In this episode of The Social Worker Podcast, we speak with Tyler Coulbourne (he/they) as part of CASW’s special series celebrating 100 years of social work in Canada. Tyler’s path into the profession was anything but linear. From working as a flight attendant, photographer, bartender, hiking guide, pirate deckhand, and more, Tyler reflects on the many experiences that shaped how they show up in social work today. At the centre of that journey there has always been a commitment to relationality, learning, community, and supporting people in meaningful ways. Throughout the conversation, Tyler shares how queerness, decolonial learning, adult education, and Indigenous approaches to practice have shaped their understanding of what social work can be. They also speak honestly about the tension of being part of a profession with a history of harm while remaining committed to pushing it toward liberation, justice, and deeper accountability. This episode invites social workers to sit with complexity, resist simple answers to complex problems, and imagine a profession rooted in relationships, humility, mutual aid, and meaningful solidarity.

The Social Worker Interview with Jaeyell Kim

In this episode of The Social Worker Podcast, presented by the Canadian Association of Social Workers, we’re joined by Jaeyell Kim, a Korean-Canadian social worker, educator, and mental health advocate whose work is deeply rooted in supporting youth, newcomers, and families across Canada. Jaeyell shares his journey into social work, shaped by his own lived experience navigating racism, migration, and identity. From being one of the only Korean-speaking social workers in his community to building more accessible and culturally responsive care, his story highlights the critical role of representation in mental health services. In this conversation, we explore: * What “transitional trauma” means and how it impacts newcomers navigating unfamiliar systems * The realities of language barriers, stigma, and access to care in immigrant communities * How culturally grounded practice can build trust, safety, and connection * Jaeyell’s creative use of comics and storytelling to make mental health more approachable * His advice to the next generation of social workers on cultural humility and lifelong learning This episode is a powerful reminder that social work is not just about services — it’s about understanding, belonging, and meeting people where they are.