On April 27, the Adelphi University School of Social Work will present “BreaKING the Ice: Black Men’s Mental Health and Wellness Conference,” highlighting the importance of mental health and wellness among Black men.
The annual conference, now in its third year, is themed Policy, Implementation and Practice in the Face of Social Injustice.
The CEO of the National Association of Social Workers, Anthony Estreet, PhD, will serve as the conference’s honorable speaker.
The lead organizer for the event is Schanica Pickens, assistant dean of student affairs and director of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program for Adelphi’s highly ranked School of Social Work. She is also the winner of Adelphi’s 2022 Presidential Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “We are proud to once again host this important conference to promote the well-being of Black men in our communities, families and workplaces,” she noted. “This year, for our 2024 conference, we are taking the work one step further. We will be considering the need for policy development, implementation and practices—at the micro, mezzo and macro levels—to amend or alter policies that are unfair, oppressive, discriminatory or unsuitable to persons of color, particularly Black men,” she added.
“BreaKING the Ice: Black Men’s Mental Health and Wellness Conference” will take place at Adelphi’s Performing Arts Center from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. It is open to the public free of charge, though registration is required. Participants can earn 6 continuing education credits (CEs) for $40.
To learn more and register, visit black-mens-mental-health-conference.
About Anthony Estreet, PhD, CEO of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Anthony Estreet, PhD, earned a bachelor’s in science in clinical psychology from Bowie State University, an MSW at Virginia Commonwealth University, a doctorate in social work at Morgan State University and an MBA at the University Maryland, College Park. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest intercollegiate African American fraternity.
Dr. Estreet has been a professor and chair of the Master of Social Work program at Morgan State University since 2013. Dr. Estreet is also founder and chief executive officer of Next Step Treatment Center in Baltimore, which provides substance use treatment and mental health services. He was vice president of the NASW board of directors but stepped down from that role after being considered a candidate in the search process. Dr. Estreet also served as president of the NASW Maryland Chapter and is an active member of the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Black Social Workers.
While at Morgan, Dr. Estreet was awarded more than $6 million in extramural grant funding for social work workforce development, research and training. He also led the development and expansion of the first MSW program in the United States, and at a historically Black college or university, to have an area of specialized practice focused on addressing substance use disorders.
During his career, Dr. Estreet has also been tapped to expand an underperforming clinical program and speed up public health action to address HIV health disparities among men in Baltimore and Jackson, Mississippi. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, is a prolific national conference presenter and keynote speaker, and has two published books.
Members of the media are welcome to attend and cover this event.