ESU Hosts 8th Annual Dr. Barbara G. Collins Social Work Professional Development Day

Social Work Professional Development Day

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on December 4, 2025, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University’s Department of Sociology, Social Work, & Criminal Justice proudly hosted the 8th Annual Dr. Barbara G. Collins Social Work Professional Development Day on November 24, bringing together a large and diverse audience of field instructors, social work students, and community-based practitioners for a full-day conference focused on Artificial Intelligence and the Implications for Social Work.

This year’s event featured multidisciplinary speakers from across education, healthcare, private practice, and technology. Attendees explored how AI is reshaping the landscape of social work, from human-centered practice considerations to emerging ethical challenges and practical applications in daily work.

Highlights of the day included the opening presentation, “Prompted to Think: A Human-Centered Look at AI” delivered by Rae Hirst, eLearning Specialist from the ESU Center for Teaching with Technology. In addition, a multidisciplinary panel discussion took place on “Implications of AI Across a Variety of Practice Settings,” which explored AI’s impact across diverse practice settings, from clinical mental health to community advocacy. The panel included participation from Dr. Beth Rajan Sockman, professor and department chair of professional and secondary education. The conference keynote address was an ethics-focused presentation examining how social workers can use AI responsibly while protecting client dignity, privacy, and autonomy by Dr. Carl Sheperis, vice provost and dean of graduate studies at Kutztown University.

The workshop offered a wide range of interactive and hands-on learning experiences. Demonstrations included mental health client simulators designed to train practitioners in realistic, AI-enhanced scenarios. One of the day’s most engaging sessions, “Battle of the Bots,” compared leading AI tools, including ChatGPT, Copilot, and Google Gemini, highlighting how each platform approaches assessment, communication, and information retrieval.

“Whether participants came in curious, cautious, or already using AI in their work, the goal was to provide space for meaningful dialogue and practical skill-building,” said Michelle DiLauro, Ph.D., professor of social work and an organizer of the day’s event. “AI is rapidly evolving, and social workers must be equipped not only with technical knowledge but with a strong ethical framework to guide its integration into practice.”

Social Work Professional Development Day serves as a cornerstone event for fostering professional growth, interdisciplinary collaboration, and forward-thinking conversations within the social work community.

To learn more about studying sociology, social work, and criminal justice at ESU visit www.esu.edu/sociology.