Advancing Research, Training, Service, and Advocacy Through the Social Worker’s Lived Experience
Thu, Mar 19
|Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Avanzando la Investigación, la Formación, el Servicio y la Abogacía a través de la Experiencia Vivida de las y los Trabajadores Sociales
Time & Location
Mar 19, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Inter American University of Puerto Rico, 100 C. Francisco Seín, San Juan, 00927, Puerto Rico
Summary
PRESENTERS: Patty Flores, MSW, ASW (Lead Presenter), Founder of Defying Labels
Sandra Crespo, LICSW, CEO & Founder of Unalome Consulting Group
Cheryl Aguilar, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW, Smith College for Social Work School Ph.D. Candidate, conferral in December, Founding Director and Therapist of Hope Center for Wellness
This panel examines how lived experiences, such as foster care involvement, neurodivergence, and immigration, serve as powerful forms of knowledge that deepen social workers’ capacity for research, training, service, and advocacy. Reframing lived experience as embodied expertise, the session highlights how Latinx and immigrant practitioners’ bilingual and bicultural identities strengthen culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice. Participants will engage in reflective dialogue to explore how embracing these narratives advances epistemic justice and equity within the profession.
Avanzando la Investigación, la Formación, el Servicio y la Abogacía a través de la Experiencia Vivida de las y los Trabajadores Sociales
Este panel examina cómo las experiencias vividas…