Phyllis Mawdsley has had a 40-year career as a Social Worker in the Northwest Territories, as a front-line Community Social Service Worker in the regions of the Beaufort Delta, the Deh Cho, Hay River and Fort Smith. As a generalist social worker in small northern communities Phyllis has had hands on experience working in child protection, community and family services, mental health, community corrections, income support, and family violence. Her passion has always been working directly with the children and families she serves.
Phyllis was active in opening the first alcohol and drug treatment centre in Inuvik in 1978, in the development and operation of the first Northwest Territories women and children’s safe shelter in Fort Smith in 1987, and she also instructed and supervised many Aurora College Social Work practicum students. She also has significant leadership experience at the management level in social programs, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Fort Smith Region from 2014 to her retirement this year, as well as active participation in territorial-wide initiatives, including the working group of mental health chronic disease management and the child and family services information system renewal.
Phyllis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta (1978), a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Victoria (2002) and a Master of Social Work degree from Dalhousie University (2006). She completed her certification with the Justice Institute of British Columbia as a Conflict Resolution Mediator (2017) and as a Family Mediator (2018).
Phyllis plans to remain in Fort Smith, NT and let life lead her on to the next adventure. She is honoured to have had such a diverse career as a northern social worker that has provided her spectacular opportunities to meet and work with so many amazing people. She summarizes her northern social work career saying, “Working as a social worker in northern Canada is a profession that I would highly recommend. It has been a very humbling experience working with northern Indigenous people where I have learned a great deal about the impact of colonization and the importance of truth, reconciliation, and self-government for Indigenous people moving forward.”