Recognizing Chad Dion Lassiter for being named Pennsylvania's 2021 Social Worker of the Year.

WHEREAS, On October 26th, the National Association of Social Workers, Pennsylvania Chapter, presented Chad Dion Lassiter with its 2021 Social Worker of the Year Award; and

WHEREAS, The Social Worker of the Year Award honors a member of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers who exemplifies the best of the profession’s values and achievements through specific accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter received his bachelor's degree in social work from Johnson C. Smith University in 1995. After graduating, Lassiter returned to the City where he worked for the Philadelphia Child Guidance center, engaging with young people who were dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but then realized that he wanted to do something bigger; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter then went on to receive his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, where he was the A. Phillip Randolph Award winner in 2001. Lassiter is a co-founder and the current president of Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc., the first Ivy League Black male group of social workers. The group focuses on recruiting young Black men into the profession, combating violence and racism in schools around the country and offering diversity and inclusion training; and

WHEREAS, On November 18, 2019, Lassiter was inducted into the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice Alumni Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter has served as Executive Director of the Red Cross House with the American Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania and was a visiting scholar at West Chester University in the Undergraduate School of Social Work; and

WHEREAS, He was also a former contributing Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice, where he was the 2008 recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Involvement Award. He is a former research fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Collective Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where he worked on two National Research Projects, P.L.A.A.Y. (Preventing Long Term Anger and Aggression in Youth) and H.I.P.P. (Health Information Providers and Promoters); and

WHEREAS, Lassiter has served as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission since 2018. In this position, Lassiter has the legislatively delegated authority to investigate complaints alleging unlawful discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and commercial property, and education; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter has established himself as an expert in the field of American race relations. He has worked on race, peace, and poverty-related issues in the U.S., Africa, Canada, Haiti, Israel, and Norway, and is called upon frequently by media outlets to provide commentary on the topic; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter has also held several board positions, including the boards of St. Christopher Hospital for the Children, the Philadelphia Prison System, and the Community College of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Lassiter has been recognized by the Philadelphia Tribune as among "The Most Influential African American Leaders,” from 2010-2020, as one of the "Young Leaders of the Future Under 30" by Ebony Magazine in 2003, and "Who's Who Among African-Americans," in 2004; and

WHEREAS, Chad Dion Lassiter has worked in the field for more than 25 years, and has garnered experience in conflict resolution, mediation, teaching, counseling, research, re-entry, and prison reform. Accordingly, the honor of this award has been bestowed upon a most dedicated and deserving individual; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby recognizes Chad Dion Lassiter for being named Pennsylvania’s 2021 Social Worker of the Year.

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