The Newfoundland and Labrador College of Social Workers (NLCSW) is pleased to announce that the recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished Service Award for 2021 is Dr. Shelly Birnie-Lefcovitch RSW. This award celebrates 50 years of commitment to the social work profession as a practitioner, academic, researcher and leader.
Shelly graduated with a Master of Social work degree from McGill University in 1971 and a PhD from Wilfred Laurier University in 1996. He began his career working with children, adolescents, and their families in Timmins, Ontario. From there spending 24 years at the University of Guelph in a variety of positions related to student affairs. He is passionate about education and his research has focused on creating opportunities, polices and structures to support new students especially those from rural communities to transition successfully from high school to university.
In 1998, Dr. Birnie-Lefcovitch accepted a faculty position at the Memorial University School of Social Work with a cross appointment to the Student Wellness Centre where he continued to impact the lives of students directly and by improving the policies and practices of the university. He was the Director of the School of Social Work at Memorial University for seven years. In addition to his administrative role, he is a dedicated teacher and has provided field instruction to over 20 BSW and MSW students, supervised student research and served on numerous committees both within the School of Social Work and the broader community.
Shelly has been an active member of the Canadian Association for Social Work Education, the Canadian Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work and the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services. He was actively involved with the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) in the 1980s and has made a substantial contribution to the NLCSW (formerly the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers) serving nine years on the Board of Directors in the role of Executive Member at Large and on planning committees for educational conferences.
A true leader, Shelly demonstrates wisdom, respect, kindness, and fairness in his interactions including when faced with challenging situations. Shelly has had a substantial influence on the lives of his students, his colleagues, and his community. He is a social worker who consistently exemplifies the values of the profession throughout his career as an academic ensuring that his teaching, field instruction and supervision instills the social work ethics, knowledge, and skills to which he is so deeply dedicated. His administrative and policy work has advanced the structures and practices that support the people who intersect with those systems.
Social workers in Newfoundland and Labrador congratulate and extend best wishes to Dr. Shelly Birnie-Lefcovitch.