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Founded in 1995 by the late former UConn School of Social Work Dean Nancy A. Humphreys, The Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work works to increase the political participation and power of social workers and the communities they serve so public policy reflects our profession’s values and commitment to social justice. Our primary programming includes:

• The Campaign School for Social Workers. Now in it's 29th year, the Campaign School for Social Workers has supported more than 3,000 students, social workers, and leaders on how to lead in policy and politics as volunteers, candidates, and advocates.
• Voting is Social Work. As co-founders of the National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign, we work to integrate nonpartisan voter engagement into social work education and practice. We train students, communities, agencies, and the profession on why voting matters to social work's mission and impact; the connection between voter turnout and social work outcomes; and work to expand voting rights and access.  We are also members of the Hartford Votes~Votas Coalition and the Scholars Strategy Network's Election Protection and Enhancement Program.
• Research. Our Research Advisory Committee includes faculty from across the country who collaborate on research related to political participation and voting as a social determinant of health.

Additionally, we support social work lobby and LEAD days and support social workers to be more politically active.

About Our Director and Our Founder

Shannon R. Lane '09 Ph.D., MSW, is the director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work at the University of Connecticut and Professor-in-Residence with the UConn School of Social Work.  She spent 10 years working for the United States Senate, and has been an advocate and researcher on local, state, and federal social policy.

She holds a Ph.D. from the UConn and MSW from the University of Michigan.  She has been studying political social work and voting for the last 20 years, and her writing credits include two books (Political Social Work: Using Power to Create Social Change and Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World) and more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.  At the Humphreys Institute, Shannon oversees the national Voting is Social Work campaign and the Campaign School for Social Workers, a two-day training that has prepared nearly 3,000 social work students and professionals from around the world try to run for political office and hold leadership positions in political and policy settings.

Shannon, who joined the UConn SSW in 2025, lives in Bethany, Connecticut with her two daughters and their dog, where she serves as the Assistant Registrar of Voters and an elected member of the Bethany Board of Education. Read more about Shannon in this UConn Today article.

The late Nancy A. Humphreys, Ph.D., founded the Institute for Political Social Work at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in 1995 to investigate ways that social workers can facilitate the political empowerment of clients as well as increase the number of social workers who are directly involved with electoral politics.

Humphreys had a long and accomplished professional history, and her academic work left an indelible mark here in the United States and abroad. She served as director of the School of Social Work at Michigan State University and dean at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Beginning in 1991, Humphreys worked with what is now the Republic of Armenia to establish social work education in that country.

Humphreys' teaching, mentorship, and leadership was instrumental in establishing political social work as an accepted area of practice and building a strong network of political social work leaders in Connecticut. She received numerous achievement awards, including the NASW Social Work Pioneer award, as well as an honorary doctorate from Yerevan State University.