Organizational Leadership in Social Work

Hybrid Post-Master’s Certificate Program

Today's workplace and workforce challenges demand that social workers and other mental health professionals grasp management practice and organizational issues. This is whether they work in a solo practice, in a supervisory position, as a direct line service provider, or as a middle or senior manager or social entrepreneur. Effective management must be deployed to preserve successful institutional behaviors, whereas leadership is needed to ensure that practices no longer serving organizational or community interests are discarded and that new innovations are pursued to generate greater impact.

Social workers and related mental health professionals are uniquely positioned to bring about progress on difficult adaptive challenges such as income inequality, healthcare, criminal justice, and educational disparities. Too often, we are not adequately represented at the tables in which policies and funding are determined despite our unique professional lens. Yet, we need to contribute to those conversations and mobilize stakeholders at all levels to develop creative strategies that address such challenges. Against this backdrop, this course is designed to strengthen the management and leadership capacities of social workers and related professionals so we can be even more effective in bringing about the change that our organizations and communities so desperately need.

The interrelated aims of this course are to; 1) survey selected management and organization theories and approaches; 2) demonstrate how clinical knowledge and skills can be adapted for management and organizational practice; 3) explore the measurement and communication of organizational goals; 4) demonstrate the ways that anthropological, sociological, and humanistic mindsets and methods apply to understanding organizations; 5) introduce learners to key organizational factors such as organizational culture, mission, ethics, employee relations, financing, innovation, accountability, and fundraising; 6) learn the differences between management and leadership and the relationship between them.

• Review and understand the basics of management and organizational practice in social services not-for-profits, governmental agencies, for-profits, and foundations.

• Demonstrate how core social work and related skills, as well as clinical skills, are applicable to organizational practice.

• Facilitate processes for attendees to assume formal leadership roles in agencies whether in management or direct practice.

• Assess and support attendee consideration in administration/management as a career path.

• Assist attendees in learning to respect the values and expertise of the profession in an organizational setting and to serve as advocates for their constituents and the profession.

• Prepare attendees to assume decision-making positions within the public sector or in other organizations; and,

• Take responsibility for helping organizations develop in ways that promote the service and social justice aims of the profession.

• Creating and using organizational analysis tools to assess the strengths and opportunities of organizations.

• Differentiation between the organizational and clinical aspects of work.

• Adaptive leadership challenges within an organization.

• The practice of philanthropy and fundraising in organizations.

• Budget streams, basic elements of accounting, and understanding financial models.

This certificate program requires the completion of 10 two-hour sessions over the course of the Spring semester. The course is held at New York University’s Washington Square Campus in Greenwich Village, NYC. Assignments include weekly readings and a final learning assessment in the form of a written assignment.

The program runs Mondays from 5:30-7:30 pm over the Fall 2024 semester. The class will be offered in person and hybrid at New York University's Washington Square Campus in NYC.

Fall 2024

• September 16, 23
• October 7, 21, 28
• November 4, 18, 18, 25
• December 9

Linda Lausell Bryant, PhD, MSW, BA 

Linda Lausell Bryant is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Clinical Professor, Master Teacher, and the Katherine and Howard Aibel Executive-in-Residence at NYU Silver. She is devoted to developing the leadership capacities of social workers for impact on the pressing social issues of our time, the intersection of race, ethnicity, and social justice; child welfare issues, and macro social work practice. 

Dr. Lausell Bryant’s career spans 35 years in youth services in both the private and public sectors. She has launched an Adaptive Leadership in Human Services Institute at NYU Silver, served as the Executive Director of Inwood House, a nonprofit youth agency from 2005-2014 and served as associate commissioner for the Office of Youth Development at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services. She is also the co-author of A Guide for Sustaining Conversations on Racism, Identity and Our Mutual Humanity and Social Work: A Call to Action.

Jared Carroll, LMSW, SIFI

Jared Carroll is a licensed social worker and youth development specialist, with nearly 20 years of experience spanning the non-profit, education, and mental health fields. His work includes direct practice, program administration, strategic planning, fundraising, and training in program leadership, development, and implementation with youth-serving and other human services organizations. With a particular focus on programs that serve children affected by trauma, Jared’s mission is to catalyze change that invites program practitioners, leaders, youth, and community members to envision the systems and supports they need to thrive and have maximum impact. 

Jared began his career in youth development programming at the Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, a therapeutic recreation organization for children affected by serious illness. There, he led both residential and hospital programming before working internationally to develop a series of new initiatives in Latin America. While consulting on these programs, Jared worked as the in-country program director for an educational non-profit in Paraguay. After returning to the US, Jared joined the international humanitarian organization, Right To Play, serving as US Program Director and overseeing their pilot play-based technical assistance program, Play At The Core. This work evolved into a novel program consulting approach, and in 2017, Jared founded Play At The Core, LLC -- a nonprofit program consulting organization that seeks to inspire healing and change through play. In addition to his work with Play At The Core, Jared also serves as a Senior Consultant for the Community Resource Exchange (CRE). His consulting efforts partner with organizations to develop practical solutions to challenges and promote real change in communities.

Jared holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Boston College and was named an Adaptive Leadership Fellow while receiving a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York University. His work is published in Nonprofit Quarterly and Psychology Today, and he serves as an adjunct lecturer at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, where he teaches Management and Organizational Practice and Exercising Leadership in the Nonprofit and Public Sectors.

20 NYSED and ASWB/ACE Continuing Education Contact Hours will be awarded for this program.

55 jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education provider in the states of New York (though NYU Silver is NYSED CE approved in NYS) and West Virginia, unless the event is outside of West VA. ACE only approves individual courses in New Jersey, though NYU Silver is CSWE-accredited and therefore accepted for licensed NJ professionals. Here is a full list of statutes related to social work CE.

Access the Post-Master's Certificate application here.

Application Fee: $50

The cost of this certificate program is $1,200, which includes tuition and the cost of an online compendium of readings.

Available discounts include:

• 25% discount for NYU Silver School of Social Work MSW/DSW/PhD alumni.
• 25% discount for practicum instructors currently working with NYU Silver School of Social Work graduate students.
• 15% discount for applicants who have already completed one NYU Silver certificate program.

Please note: discounts may not be combined.

Deposit: Upon acceptance into the program, a $250 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place. This deposit is applied to the total cost of tuition.

Refund Policy for Early Withdrawal
The $250.00 program deposit is non-refundable. Students who withdraw before the first class will be refunded 100% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students who withdraw after up to and including two (2) sessions will be refunded 70% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students who withdraw after up to and including four (4) sessions will be refunded 55% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students who withdraw after four (4) sessions will receive no refund.