Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily George. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Emily, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I love being a School Social Worker. I love teaching about social work. I love talking about social work with fellow social workers and MSW students. I love the multi-systemic, anti-oppressive, social justice, holistic lens with which we view people and the world. Social work is my purpose. Arriving at this place of understanding has been a lifelong journey. As a child, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I couldn’t pick just one career. I wanted to be a teacher, a Fly Girl, a therapist, a rock star, a movie soundtrack creator. (I love it when a song captures the moment perfectly.)
After college, I wasn’t sure what would be next. It took a year for me to decide to be a teacher. The NYC Teaching Fellows afforded me the opportunity to teach public elementary school in East Harlem while obtaining my Master’s in Education. I taught for four years. In that time, my favorite moments were about connection and belonging. When students feel part of a class community, they have better learning outcomes. They feel it is safe to take risks and make mistakes, both crucial parts of learning.
Social work was a natural next step for me to learn how to best support the social and emotional needs of students, their families, and the school community. I attended NYU’s Silver School of Social Work. Upon graduation, I went right back into working at a school. This time, as a School Social Worker. With supportive colleagues and engaged students, I was right where I needed to be. I had found my purpose.
Burnout and compassion fatigue did not hit me all at once. They slowly crept through me, like mold in a wall. At first, I didn’t notice it. Then, as time passed, I felt something was off, but I told myself, “I can push through. I can just work harder, stay later.” I needed something to change but was unclear about what and how. There was no moving up in my school or charter network. What would be the next step in my career?
I looked to the members of the Faboo Listserv NYC, a group of over 800 School Social Workers & Counselors that I created and have facilitated since 2010. Members had been concerned that they did not have clinical supervision to support best practice delivery, continue training, and receive ethical and professional consultation for this often stressful job. I realized I could build a business to meet that need.
Currently, I have the honor of working with many School Social Workers and Counselors, providing supervision to them as well as offering workshops and consultation for school leadership and teachers. I am an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work where I teach Master’s students. Making the shift to teaching and supporting, I know I have found my place. To be able to make a business of it has been mindblowing. I have learned that I was the only one who could hold me back. Releasing this hold has been empowering and grounding as I expand my work, staying true to my purpose of supporting School Social Workers, Counselors, students, and school communities.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I frequently get asked how I started my business. Inquirers want to know, “Where is there to go from here?” The school social work career path seems to have limited “moving up” potential outside of working in a more administrative office. I had asked myself, “Was I going to have this same role my entire career?” Welp, burnout answered that question. I was the only one in my role and the amount of need continued to grow exponentially. It was not sustainable. Facilitating the Faboo Listserv NYC has allowed me to connect with others in my profession. Comprised of over 800 NYC School Social Workers and Counselors, the Faboo Listserv is designed for members to reach out for support, resources, information, and more. So many of us are the only ones in our roles at schools. Faboo is a space where we can connect and share.
My mother always told me this about life and career, “It’s all who you know.” This is sound advice, as it was this listserv of colleagues who supported me by being my first clients. When I had launched Emily.George LLC. I was on my way.
I have incredible clients who work in schools and with youth in other capacities. My business, now in its third year, includes clinical supervision of School Social Workers and Counselors. I offer consultation with school leadership as well as workshops for counseling and school staff.
I am continuing to expand my services. This year, I have been working with colleagues Cindy Bautista-Thomas and Ancy Lewis of Velocity Visions Inc. to co-host a retreat this coming March. It will be a weekend for School Social Workers and Counselors to “reTreat, reLearn, (and) reVitalize.” It will include a balance of workshops, (offering continuing education credits), building and strengthening community, and self-care.
At our first planning meeting, I became emotional because while working in a school I really needed this retreat to exist. It just wasn’t there. So we went ahead and created it. Identifying a gap or need and working to meet it is the core of my practice of social work. I am so proud to be able to use my experience and knowledge to offer opportunities for growth, education, and restoration. The participants can go back to their schools feeling refreshed and ready for their essential, challenging jobs.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As I reflect on this question, I identify the three areas that have greatly impacted my journey. The first is being a MEMBER OF A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY. I have found colleagues and peers with whom I was able to connect, reach out for resources, and befriend. Don’t be afraid to reach out and connect. I am lucky to have the Faboo Listserv NYC community. In addition, LinkedIn has been another great space for professional connection through community. Second, MAINTAIN THE STANCE OF A LIFELONG LEARNER. To my MSW students, I always say that there is no way that anyone will become a “social work expert” after the two years of a Master’s program. The learning continues. Read, attend workshops, and engage in continuing education opportunities. Ensure you are learning about those that you serve. Having cultural humility means that one cannot possibly know everything about other cultures. One must know that this learning about clients is a lifelong process, especially when clients do not share the same identities as you. Being a lifelong learner means that we are open to and seek critical feedback (from reliable sources.) We can learn as much from our failures and stressors as we can from our successes.
The third quality is VULNERABILITY which can look different for different people. When we can be vulnerable and sit in discomfort, we can go to our growing edge, a place where we can truly engage in learning. Some may feel that this is synonymous with weakness, but that is not the case. This can look like being open to feedback, unpacking implicit bias and privilege, or even just taking a learning stance.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
School social work is not an easy career. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the roles we have in providing counseling, resources, advocacy, psychoeducation, and connection with students, families, teachers, and school staff. In the last decade, U.S. youth have experienced a spike in mental health challenges. These included my middle school students. As a result, the need for social work support also spiked. When Covid hit, everything became exponentially challenging and overwhelming. What I did not realize, even before Covid, was the burnout that was eating away at me. I was one to push it away, to push through. Once I left my job in a school, I soon realized just how much healing was ahead of me. I learned to better listen to my body cues as well as lean into the tough emotions rather than trying not to feel them.
Currently, I am easier on myself and more focused on better self-care. Being my own boss is a privilege. I can schedule my time better and more to my liking. I’ve started to box. It empowers me while supporting my emotional and physical health. I now take things one day at a time. How I feel at one time does not mean I will feel that at another or always feel that way. I remember to take a deep breath and utter, “This too shall pass.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilygeorge.org
- Instagram: @emg.sw.ed
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-george-lcsw-ms-ed-a4b4ab88/
- Other: LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/emg.sw.ed
