Joining a GCSW Student Organization is a wonderful way to get involved with other students, faculty and community members who share your interests and professional goals. The Graduate College of Social Work has a number of opportunities to get involved with campus-wide and college groups. Joining a student organization also provides you with opportunities for leadership and professional development, to engage in social activities, and to build lifelong friendships. Some organizations require a small fee for membership. Below is a full list of organizations.
 
Membership in honor societies is either through invitation or an application process, and is based on academic merit.  Student membership in social work professional organizations may also be available. Usually dues are required.
 
Active GCSW Student Organizations include: 

CRITICAL LENS

Mission of organization: Critical Lens seeks to build community among GCSW students through film. Members meet monthly to watch a film pertaining to social justice, advocacy, mental health, and more before discussing how it relates to our future roles as social workers. 

Primary contact for the organization:  Maria Rocha, Critical Lens President, mtrocha@COUGARNET.uh.edu

Coog Student Parents

Mission of organization: Seeks to empower student-parents in the University of Houston community to excel academically, foster a supportive network, and navigate the unique challenges of balancing parenthood and education.

Parenting Students Website

Primary contact for the organization:  Brittne Sinclair, President, bsincla3@cougarnet.uh.edu

Alternate contacts: Tabbitha Martinez, Founder, tolmedo@cougarnet.uh.edu

GCSW STUDENT ASSOCIATION

Mission of organization: The purpose of this organization is to promote unity among all students of the Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW). Our goals are to 1) promote cohesiveness and communication among students; 2) promote student scholarship and leadership; 3) enhance community awareness of our school and its students; 4) advocate for students with faculty, staff, and administration.

Primary contact for the organization:  Cecilia Reynolds - President, cmreyno2@cougarnet.uh.edu

Alternate contacts: Anika Rodriguez - Vice President, arrodr26@cougarnet.uh.edu

Abigail Timmins - Secretary, amtimmin@cougarnet.uh.edu

Rachel Babb - Social Media Manager, rlbabb@cougarnet.uh.edu

ASSOCIATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN SOCIAL WORKERS (AAASW)

Mission of organization: Association of Asian American Social Workers is a community of students and social work professionals committed to raising awareness and advocating for the needs of Asian Americans. AAASW supports social work students and professionals interested in or currently working with Asian Americans. AAASW also serves to raise awareness of the social and economic issues facing Asian Americans.

Primary contacts for organization: Michelle De Belen- President, micdebelen@gmail.com

Prior Statements from AAASW

Anti-AAPI Hate Crimes Statement from AAASW

Anti-Black Racism Statement from AAASW

ASSOCIATION OF BLACK SOCIAL WORKERS-GCSW CHAPTER

Mission of organization: ABSW's purpose is to advance the African American initiative at the University of Houston, specifically Social Work. 

Primary contact for organization: Edward Scott Jr., Faculty Advisor, edscottj@central.uh.edu

CHILD WELFARE EDUCATION PROJECT (CWEP) STUDENT & ALUMNI ORGANIZATION

Mission of organization: CWEP is for students and alumni who are part of the Title IV E funded Child Welfare Education Project, the program in which students are prepared for the challenging and rewarding work in Children’s Protective Services.

Primary contact for organization: Renita Laury, rllaury@central.uh.edu

GCSW INTERNATIONAL STUDENT GROUP

Mission of organization: ISG's vision is to achieve a better graduate life for international students at GCSW, University of Houston. The mission of the ISG is to share resources, policies, and experiences to help international students at GCSW navigate their graduate life.

Primary contact for organization: Amber Mollhagen, amollhagen@uh.edu

LATINX STUDENT ASSOCIATION (LSA)

Mission of organization: The Latinx Student Association of the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, represents a community of students committed to the principles of empowerment, solidarity, and social justice for the Latinx population. We embrace a mandate to promote advocacy, service, cultural awareness, and scholarship through collaboration and networking in the school and the community.

Primary contact for the organization: Lillian Ortiz, LSA Staff Advisor, laortiz2@central.uh.edu

MACRO NETWORK

Mission of organization: The mission of our organization is to advocate for and on the behalf of macro focused social work students, to introduce social work students to macro level engagement, and to organize events that educate students on what a career in macro social work could look like.

Primary contact for organization: Currently open

POLICY INSIDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Mission of organization: To bring awareness to the public policies that impact the communities and populations that we engage with both directly and indirectly. Through the “Policy Insider Series,” we hope to help GCSW students, faculty, staff, and the broader Houston social work community understand and navigate complex social welfare policy issues and engage in legislative and electoral advocacy around these issues.

Primary contact for the organization:  Currently open

Q+MMUNITY

Mission of organization: To be a supportive Q+mmunity of graduate students and professionals led by the GCSW dedicated to the advocacy, service, cultural awareness, and scholarship of LGBTQ+ issues, while upholding the core values of the social work profession through education, engagement, and collaboration within and beyond the University of Houston.

Primary contacts for organization: Jazlyn Young jlyoun22@cougarnet.uh.edu

STUDENTS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK

Mission of organization: The purpose of this organization is to promote the field of international social work at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work by highlighting human rights and social justice issues, engaging students in the active pursuit of global justice, and increasing international social work awareness at the University of Houston. Our goals are to: promote advocacy, service, cultural awareness, and scholarship through collaboration and networking in the school and global community. 

Primary contacts for organization: Christina Tahtouch, President, cmtahtou@cougarnet.uh.edu

Alternate contacts: Patrick Leung, PhD, SAISW Faculty Advisor at pleung@uh.edu

University of Houston Payment for Placement (UHP4P)

Mission of organization: Payments 4 Placements (P4P) is a nationwide movement calling for all social work students to be paid for their practicum placements. Our mission is to ensure all students are paid for practicum, remove barriers to accessing social work education, and support the nationwide movement towards paid practicum. 

Primary contacts for organization: Drew Tonjes dtonjes@cougarnet.uh.edu, Maryssa Fritz mmfritz@cougarnet.uh.edu, Rea'ianna Winston rwinston@cougarnet.uh.edu Organization email: uhp4p22@gmail.com