Judy Ratliff and Wayne Martin, Co-Chairs, VA Legislation and Advocacy Committee

Lobbyist

As some of you may know, Virginia has been without a lobbyist since December, 2021. Our lobbyist of many years, Sue Rowland, decided to semi-retire at that time. GWSCSW and VSCSW did launch an exhaustive search, and had two excellent candidates. Unfortunately, we did not realize the cost of current fees charged by lobbyists in Virginia, and found that they were way outside of our shared budgets. Although Sue was in semi-retirement, she did still have some clients, and we approached her to establish terms on which she might return. Just a few weeks ago, we were able to conclude negotiations. and she has agreed to return for one year, with the option to return for a second year. We are so, so excited that she is going to continue to keep us as clients, because she knows us and knows the needs of clinical social work and social workers in Virginia.

New member of the Virginia Legislation and Advocacy Committee

We welcome Brian Rink as a new member of our committee. Brian recently moved to Virginia from Maryland and has a strong interest in legislation and advocacy. We are very happy to have him.

Judy Ratliff, Co-Chair, jratliff.lcsw@gmail.com  | Wayne Martin, Co-Chair, wamnoles@aol.com