Vividly portraying the personal and professional lives of social work luminaries from the 19th to the present century, this text links their groundbreaking contributions in social work to current CSWE core competencies. The book focuses on leaders who shaped the field across modern American history - the Progressive Era, the Great Society, the New Deal, the Postwar period, and others - and examines their lives in the context of the social and historical environment, their contributions to social work, and lessons from their experiences that are still relevant to social work today.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• 1. The Creation and Development of the Social Work Profession
• 2. Dorothea Dix: Bringing Individuals With Mental Illness Out of Prisons
• 3. Ellen Gates Starr: The Other Founder of Hull House
• 4. Mary Richmond: The Beginning of Micro Social Work
• 5. Frances Perkins: The First Female Cabinet Member
• 6. Whitney Moore Young Jr.: A Civil Rights Mediator
• 7. Katherine Anne Tuach Kendall: Reforming a Profession
• 8. Dr. Nazneen Sada Mayadas: A Truly International Social Worker
• 9. The Honorable Barbara Mikulski: A Leader of Women
• 10. A New Century: Leaders in Recent Years