Meet Silas W. Kelly, LMSW | Your, E-Journalism Social Work Advocate””

We had the good fortune of connecting with Silas W. Kelly, LMSW and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Silas W., where are you from and how did your background and upbringing impact who you are today?
I was born in Brooklyn and was the youngest of eight children. My biological
parents were not able to provide properly for us. That’s not a condemnation, just
the reality of the situation. We were all removed from our home and became
wards of the City of NY. The 6 older siblings were all placed in an orphanage
called “Hillcrest Home for Boys & Girls”. At the age of 3, I was placed in my first
foster home in Brooklyn, a cruel, abusive and traumatic experience. Thank
goodness for the profession of social work. They picked up on something, and
they rescued me and placed me in my second foster home in Amityville while I
was still 3. “The day I left Brooklyn, the lady I was placed with got me dressed,
took me downstairs, sat me on the steps, went back inside and slammed the
door. I remember sitting there thinking that “I must not be worth anything
because she sat me out here like someone sits out the trash”. My self-esteem
was shot. My next thought was that this was a cold, cruel and heartless world. I
told myself, don’t ever count on anybody or ask for help. I reasoned that the
same way I had been left sitting out there on my own is the way it would always
be. Then a car pulled up, a social worker got out, took me by the hand and
opened the back door. And there was this beautiful woman who was my saving
grace, my new foster mother, the late Mrs. Ruth Alexandra Cox. On the other side
of her was the youngest of my older brothers. He and I were reunited, placed in
the loving home of the late Mr. & Mrs. Cox, and grew up together there in
Amityville, NY.

“Those are some of the details of the powerful impact social work had on my life at an early age. Social workers supported my brother and I as we grew up. We
were able to go to summer camp every year. When I showed an interest in playing the drums, they provided me with all the materials I needed. The profession made it possible for us to join the Boy Scouts. I remember going to concerts & plays in the summer, being taken to lunch afterward, going on boat rides, going to agency Christmas parties (Meeting NY Radio personalities during the parties was the highlight!!). “Another defining moment was when I was 16. I got into trouble and had to go to court. My foster parents were there, my minister was there, and my social worker came as well. I remember the judge saying he would sentence me to probation instead of sending me to reform school because I had such a strong support system. That was another positive impact that social work had. I learned that the purpose and mission of social work is to empower others. Those are all examples of the ways I experienced the profession. As I got older, I started to understand that you hear so many negative stories about social workers and the profession. But my story is the antidote. I always stand up and say, but that wasn’t my experience.”

Throughout my formative years the profession of Social Work was always there
for me in a myriad of ways. Once I started my career first in counseling, then in
teaching, and then in Social Work I tried to “be there” for those I was charged
with helping. When I started my career in Broadcast-Journalism, my goal was to
always tell uplifting stories of hope, encouragement and helping others. I also am always motivated to tell the stories of the often mislabeled forgotten, down-
trodden, and written off, “dregs of society”. I like to tell the stories of their overcoming challenges and going on to achieve great things and reaching out to
help others.

I sum up all my speaking engagements and many of my articles and interviews these days by like this. “I pay homage to my Biological Parents because they gave
me life, I pay homage to my Foster Parents because they made my life, and the
Social Work profession saved my life”.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
“From Foster Care to Broadcast Journalism to Social Work to E-Journalism Social Work Advocate” By Silas W. Kelly, LMSW – “E-Journalism Social Work Advocate”

The first time that I had the notion to use journalism to address a Social Work issue I was in community college studying Broadcast Tele-Communications. But that isn’t what I originally wanted to do when I enrolled. I had initially decided that I wanted to be a Disc Jockey on the radio. My plan was to get my associates degree, make an audition tape and get a job as a DJ on a small radio station out in the Midwest or down south. Then I would build up steam working my way back towards NY, create a name for myself, and eventually get on one of the major radio stations. Back in the early 90’s that’s how it was done. However, while studying at Suffolk Community College on Long Island in NY something happened to change all of that. I was given the opportunity to do an independent study honors project. The thought came to my mind to create a documentary on foster child care and dedicate it to the memory of my late foster mother, Mrs. Ruth Alexandra Cox. She had passed away several years earlier and that was a painful experience for me. You see, she made my life after the Social Work profession saved my life by placing my brother and I in the loving home of the late Mr. & Mrs. Cox. She meant the world to me and so this was my way of paying homage to her for all that she meant to me and did for me. So, I pitched the idea of a documentary to my professor and he liked it. I purchased a book on how to create a radio documentary, read it from cover to cover, and then went to work. I got in touch with a local Human Services agency called Little Flower Children and Family Services of NY that helps orphaned children find home placements. I interviewed two Staff Members there. My focus was on what their experience was like dealing with placing children in foster care and how they felt the experience was like for the children who were placed. Once I had my interviews recorded, I spent the entire summer of 1991 in the production studios at the college. I did commentary mixed with sound bites from my two guest, and situational music clips. The more work I put into the project the more I realized that this is what I was called to do. At the culmination of the project, which turned out ok for my first time, I was totally committed to pursuing a career in Broadcast Journalism. Also, by this time I had gotten a job as a P.T. board operator at a small station out east on Long Island. While there I somehow talked my way into being the only Part-Timer allowed to produce and host on their public affairs show called “Where You Live”. The show required each producer/host to find issues of interest to east end listeners. I had previously been given an assignment called “Campus Calendar” the station. I was responsible to reach out to area colleges out on the east end of Suffolk to find out what types of “community-oriented” student activities were taking place on campuses and then create P.S.A.’s to highlight and publicize them. This was the perfect assignment to start finding topics and issues that would make for outstanding public affairs segments. I was also able to put into practice some of the best advice I was ever given regarding my desire to do public affairs radio. It came from veteran radio Newsman, Joel Martin, who was the news director at a small radio station on Long Island. He said to me “if you want to be successful in public affairs broadcasting, you’ve always got to have your antennae’s up, were ever you go, whatever you see, whoever you meet, you’ve always got to ask yourself, where’s the story here?”. I was doing really well with finding topics, issues, and guests for my segments and I was learning a lot about producing public affairs, features, and documentaries. The quality of the guests and their topics were pretty impressive. Then one day I saw something about a “Distinguished Lecturer” series that Stony Brook University was putting on. to celebrate Black History Month featuring the late, Dr. Arthur A. Fletcher, who at the time was the chairman of the “United States Civil Rights Commission” and was also known as the “Father of Affirmative Action”. I made some phone calls and was given an opportunity to interview Dr. Fletcher, If I could come to him because he wasn’t able to come to the radio station. I packed up my equipment and met the Dr. where he was staying. That was a great thrill and honor for me to land an interview of that caliber. My station manager said that was the highest profile, and most informative interview that had ever been produced on the station. It was at that moment that I realized that I had found the beginning of my path.

By this time, I was firmly convinced of what my calling was. So, I applied to Brooklyn College in 1993 and enrolled in the Broadcast Journalism program. I had learned that they had a college radio station, WBCR 590 AM. I went there determined to put my newly acquired public affairs producing and hosting skills to work. I thought to myself, if they have a public affairs department, I will join it and produce PSA’s and work with whoever was doing the public affairs program. However, I said to myself, if they don’t have one then I will start one. The day I went to sign up at the radio station a student was sitting there taking applications and interviewing students. Little did I know at the time that the person sitting there would go on to assist my public affairs career in a huge way. His last name was Skeery and his radio handle became Skeery Jones. He asked me what areas I was interested in. So, I asked if they had a public affairs department and he said no. I said okay I’ll start one, do all the PSA’s and I’ll even start a Public Affairs program. He sensed my enthusiasm and said ok, said I could be the Public Affairs Director. He told me when and where the first meeting was going to be. I was over the top ecstatic! I thanked him and turned to walk away. Before I could get out the door he said, “hey man, you wanna be news director too”? I turned and said “naw man, I don’t wanna do news, I just wanna do public affairs”. He continued saying, “aw come on man, you have more enthusiasm than the person who did it last year”. So, I said, alright man, I tell you what, I’ll start it, get it set-up, and then hand it off to someone else as long as I get to do public affairs. He agreed and so I walked out of there as News/Public Affairs Director. I built the news department from the ground up and created a public affairs program called “Viewpoints”. The program started out slowly but became very successful during my 4-yr. tenure. Skeery even had a special on-air round -table set up for me to do my show with an audio engineer running the board. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of a prominent, impactful relationship between he and I. I again, went about producing the show with “my antennas up” and covered a wide variety of topics and issues. I did segments on the “African Burial Ground” unearthed in downtown Manhattan, the “Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal”, and Author, Dr. Yvonne Thornton, writer of “The Ditch-Digger’s Daughters” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92XZuiAs0U) a true story that was tuned into a made-for-tv movie. (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kelsunn-on-the-air/episodes/Dr–Yvonne-S–Thornton-The-Ditchdiggers-Daughters—Black-History-Month-1997—Re-Air-e1ufh35/a-a99kv8g). In my first year, I was pounding the pavement recruiting guests for the show, by the 2nd year of the show people and organizations were calling up the school asking how they could get on “Viewpoints”. Prior to graduating in 1997 I even taught alternative H.S. students how to produce, host, and promote their own public affairs program. They called it “Teen Talk”. The students worked all semester to learn all the nuances and the show was a resounding success. During my 4 years there I was awarded several scholarships based on academics plus my broadcast journalism work. One of the scholarships was the Bayliss Broadcast Scholarship in 1996 for outstanding achievements in radio (https://www.beaweb.org/bayliss/broadcasters.html), a national scholarship. The other was the Levenson Award (https://www.brooklyn.edu/info-for/alumni-friends/alumni-engagement/bcaa/awards/), the highest award given out by the Alumni Association. I also won all three broadcasting scholarships in the Dept. of
Radio & Television, and Press Club of L.I. and Scripps-Howard scholarships as
well. Prior to graduating I was inducted into the Alpha Epsilon Rho (AERho)
National Broadcasting Honor Society. I also made history serving as the 1st
African-American to become President and General Manager of the campus radio station.

Upon graduation I went to work as a non-paid news reporter-intern for listener-sponsored radio station WBAI 99.5 FM in NY. There I got to further sharpen my interviewing, writing, and editing skills. I was given stories of significance to cover around the city. This called for me to go on-location to cover a news story record sound and conduct brief interviews, return back to the production studios, edit out sound bites and write a script to match. Then the engineer would record me reading my script and play the sound cut to match. The final product would get edited into the newsreel. On several occasions when getting back to the studio late do to distance and travel, I had to write my script, hand over cuts, and “go live”. On March 4, 1999 my piece on the protest on Wall Street in Manhattan surrounding the murder of Amadou Diallo led the 6 pm evening news. It was during this time that I began to get a clearer picture of what I was supposed to use my skills and knowledge for. I realized that they were to be used to tell stories that create change and foster hope by sharing the experiences of people who have gotten help and those who have helped others overcome challenges and thrive. I also realized that I was meant to give a platform and exposure to organizations addressing societal issues and thereby supporting underserved communities and individuals. Lastly, I realized that I was supposed to be a “voice for the voiceless”. The efforts put forth earned me a promotion to a Per-Diem paid News Reporter covering stories around the city. Those experiences would prove to be valuable later on in my career.

Years later in 2007, I would reconnect with my Brooklyn College Radio fellow Alum. By now he was nationally known as Skeery Jones, Radio Personality on WHTZ 100.3 FM, New York, better known as Z-100. He had worked his way up to the Executive Producer of the nationally syndicated “Elvis Duran in the Morning Show” on Z-100. Skeery told me about the station’s public affairs program called “Get Active”. He said the purpose of the program was two-fold, to highlight non-profit agencies and Individuals doing things to benefit the community, and also to encourage volunteerism in the community. I told Skeery about an innovative initiative called “Project GEARUp” that offered underserved H.S. students to take part in a college preparatory program and design robots. Skeery immediately liked the idea and told me to produce it. He said that because he knew of my past passion and performance from our days at Brooklyn College, that I pretty much had carte blanche to produce public affairs segments for the show. It was at that point that my radio public affairs career started to blossom. I produced a total of 7 public affairs segments for get active.

In 2010, my first year in the Adelphi MSW program I had produced a segment on a L.I. scoliosis support group called the “Curvy Girls”. The segment garnered national attention from the National Association of Social Workers, which I was now a member of (https://www.helpstartshere.org/living-with-scoliosis-qa-with-leah-stoltz-and-silas-kelly-msw-s/). At the time one of my professors said to me that Social Work and the Media was a combination that hasn’t been utilized as much as it should be. He went on to say that he believed that I had found my niche. That was further confirmation that I was on the right track. The following year I decided to do a poster presentation for the annual NASW-NYS Conference. That year’s national theme was, Social Work the Go-To Profession, so I choose to entitle my poster presentation: “The Media, A Conduit to Social Work … The ‘Go-To’ Profession”.
My aim was to show how the media can be, and is used by the Social Work profession to educate and connect individuals, families, communities and organizations to vital services and resources. The research from the poster pointed to several instances when the use of media in the Social Work realm led to positive outcomes for clients by making them aware of services and resources available to them. One of the quotes in my research findings was from nationally-known family and child welfare expert, Dr. Katharine Briar-Lawson, who at the time was Dean of the University at Albany, NY School of Social Welfare. She said in relations to a program there that was teaching Social Work students to use the media “the program enables social work students to learn how to harness the media to get the stories out about the needs of those they serve”. Little did I know at the time that our paths would cross again years later around the very topic of social work and the media.

In 2013 on my 3rd try, I was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa (www.ODK.org) National Leadership Honor Society and graduated with honors In
2014. Just prior to graduation the university did a feature article highlighting all of the ways that I was successfully combining my two passions, media and Social Work (https://www.adelphi.edu/news/silas-kelly-social-work-media-specialist/). Upon graduation at Adelphi, I was chosen as one of the students featured in Adelphi University’s Commencement Profile videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFK1-rJQ9V8), the only MSW major in that year’s graduating class to be bestowed such an honor.

After the “Curvy Girls” broadcast, Skeery invited me to not only produce but to participate. He and I co-hosted 4 segments together after that, two of them got publicized widely by Adelphi University after I had received my MSW. One of the segments, aired in 2016 highlighted a prominent mental health and wellness agency that does a lot of Social Work initiatives. (https://www.adelphi.edu/news/reaching-out-with-z100/). By this time, radio programs began inviting me on to talk about Social Work and to promote the profession. In 2017, I was invited to be a guest on L.I. News 103.9 to discuss the Social Work profession dealing with salaries and career advancement. That segment won the NASW Media Award for Radio (https://www.socialworkersspeak.org/hollywood-connection/and-the-2017-nasw-media-award-winners-are.html). Another segment Skeery and I produced in 2017 dealt with the issue of homelessness and hunger on Long Island. The story of a noble volunteer effort to address those issues came across my desk at the time. It dealt with an Adelphi Alumnae who rode her Bicycle cross-country from NY to LA to raise awareness about those issues and money to address those issues. She set a goal to raise $25, 000. Once again, with antennas up and my carte blanche ticket to produce I went to work. I pitched it to Z-100’s Skeery Jones he immediately agreed to bringing it on. I reached out to my Alma Mater at Adelphi, and The INN to discuss my idea and they were thrilled. We all met in Manhattan at the Z-100 studios and the program was terrific. Afterward, Adelphi University publicized the Public Affairs segment that featured two of its Alumni collaborating. The article told how the young ladies bike ride fell short of her stated goal of $25,000, but did raise over $15,000 of which $3000 was raised after the program aired (https://www.adelphi.edu/news/alumni-get-inn-step-for-a-cause/). The NASW also publicized the broadcast nationally (https://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media-news/social-workers-radio-program-focuses-on-womans-cross-country-bike-ride-to-raise-money-to-address-homelessness-hunger.html). Subsequently, in 2018 that episode earned 1st Place honors in the Press Club of L.I. media awards competition in the Radio Category – Breaking News. This gave me the drive and the motivation to branch out on my own and I started a podcast. It was named The “Kelsunn-on-the-Air” Social Work Podcast, “This program Promotes, Highlights, and Uplifts the Social Work Profession”. The podcast aims to educate the general public to the undeniably vital contributions Professional Social Workers make in every aspect of our society every day”. This was in 2018 when I invested in a large amount of professional audio equipment and I would pack it all up and go on location to libraries, universities, and agencies to produce and host podcast segments. As always, my shows dealt with topics and issues of import to listeners. In 2019 the podcast was awarded 3rd Place at the Annual Press Club of Long Island Media Awards Banquet. The segment was entitled “From Denial to Discussion” – Facing The Truth Finally, my guest Frank P. shared his personal story of his mental health struggles and the stigma attached to treatment (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/e4i1il). Also in 2019 for Social Work Month, celebrated every year in March, a piece that I wrote in tribute to my late sister, Ms. Nancy M. Brimfield was published in the New Social Worker Magazine (https://www.socialworker.com/extras/social-work-month-2019/my-sister-and-i-connected-by-social-work/). This was a Social Work Month Special that addressed one of the “6 Ethical Principles of Social Work” which is “The Importance of Human Relationships”. In that article I talked about how the profession of Social Work made it possible for me to even know my sister since we were all separated during childhood. In 2020 a podcast segment I produced on the show won 2nd Place at the Annual Press Club of Long Island Media Awards Banquet. This show highlighted the important issue of public libraries nation-wide starting to hire professional Social Workers (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/ebc4bs). This story came about as a result of me once again following the early sage advice of “having my antennas up “. I came across this article about the subject that piqued my interest, and I started digging (https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/library-systems-embracing-their-new-roles-as-social-service-hubs). What was even move ironic was that I reached out to a library out of my district and they actually allowed me to use their facility to record the podcast. Also in 2020, at the height of COVID, I produced a 13-Part Series entitled “Social Workers – Confronting Covid-19 with Compassion, Courage, and Character”. (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/eebl53). I interviewed Social Workers from around the country to highlight the heroic front-line efforts of Social Workers. Each episode pointed to more evidence that Social Workers were indeed, Front-Line, Essential Workers as we were in the grip and throes of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Later that year I was invited back to LI News Radio 103.9, Radio Jobline to be a virtual guest to talk about the emotional impact of the pandemic and the racial protest for justice during the Summer of 2020 (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/ei8ghd). Also once again in 2020 for Social Work Month, I wrote a another piece for the New Social Worker Magazine. Once again, his article pointed to “The Importance of Human Relationships”. In this article I talked about how the profession of Social Work made it possible for the youngest of my seven older siblings and I to be reunited in the loving foster home of the late Mr. & Mrs. Oden & Ruth Cox. It was a tribute to the profession of Social Work and to my foster parents, especially my mother. In 2021 a podcast segment I produced entitled, “Destigmatize to Normalize”- A Needed Discussion on Mental Health & Wellness featured an in-depth roundtable discussion about the topic. One of the guests was nationally known author and public speaker Mike Veny, a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist. (https://www.mikeveny.com/). Also on the program were Mental Health and Wellness Advocate and Speaker, Frank Pomata, and Dr. Lisa Z. Newland, LCSW-R, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Social Work, Molloy University. This episode won a 1st Place at the 2021 Annual Press Club of Long Island Media Awards Banquet (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/eacud5).

The production, research, and interviewing skills gained years ago and a clear vision of my purpose have continued to pay dividends to this very day. In 2020 -2021 I was accepted as one of 15 Social Workers nationally to be a Network for Social Work Management Policy Fellow. This was a 10-month research program that was to culminate in a final presentation of the fellow’s research findings. Each Fellow was paired with a mentor. I had the wonderful opportunity to be paired up with a wonderful mentor, Dr. Katharine Briar-Lawson, yes, the same Dr. Briar-Lawson I had met about 7 years prior while doing my poster presentation in Albany. After seeing my resume detailing my extensive media experience and my growing audio podcast offerings Dr. Briar-Lawson suggested that I do my final presentation as a media project. She also strongly suggested that I expand my podcast to video for this project. My research topic made the case for more equitable salaries for Social Workers and I interview 6 prominent social workers. With the assistance of my mentor, I was able to interview several prominent Social Workers from around the country via Zoom, Including Dr. Briar Lawson. (https://youtu.be/0-zjk7b4feI). She along with NASW Director of Communications, Greg Wright in DC, helped me to nail down interviews with the late Dr. Mit Joyner, LCSW and President of the Board of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Ms. Sarah Butts, MSW, Public Policy Director at NASW. Dr. Briar-Lawson also helped me secure an interview with Dr. Tracy Whitaker, LCSW and professor of Social Work at Howard University former director of the Center for Workforce Studies & Social Work Practice at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). She led the first compensation and benefits study of the social work profession in 2009. Also included was Dr. Lois Stein, one of my other mentors from Adelphi University. She talked about a new program she started to introduce H.S. Students to careers in Social Work. All of these interviews talked about the profession, the salary structure, why social workers don’t get paid as equitably as they should, and how to change that. Finally, the keynote interview for me in this series was the one that conducted with my most impactful social worker, the late Mr. Dalton Murchison. I re-connected with him after many, many years. He was with my brother and I during our teenage years. As a matter of fact, he was my last Social Worker before I aged out. I paid special tribute to him as a Social Worker who made a huge difference in my life. That morning on June 18, 2021, he and many of his family members attended the virtual presentation of my Fellowship project highlighting Mr. Murchison. Later that same evening he and all of his family attended the virtual NASW L.I. Social Work Awards ceremony where I was honored with the NASW 2021 L.I. “Social Worker of the Year” award (https://naswnys.org/long-island-awards-night/). Again, I paid tribute to Mr. Murchison. The award was given to me based on my using the media and my e-journalism skills to promote the Social Work Profession and the impact we have on society. Sadly, one month to the day after I honored him (https://youtu.be/TULzyeV3Ag8), he passed away. I and everyone who knew what he meant to me all said that it was meant for me to re-connect with him to tell him thank you before he passed away. That story is the epitome of the priceless impact that Social Workers have on the lives of those they serve.

In 2021 & 2022 the podcast won awards from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (https://www.aiva.org/). In 2021 my multimedia tribute to my late foster mother was honored (https://youtu.be/n8e87IQK4Pk) with a “Communicator Award of Distinction”. In 2022 my salute to “Juneteenth” being named a federal holiday the previous year, another multimedia production also won a “Communicator Award of Distinction”.

In May of 2022, a true full-circle moment occurred for me. I was notified by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASW) that I had been selected as the recipient of the “International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award”. This award is “given to an individual, group, or organization that has significantly advanced the public image of professional social work”. (https://www.socialworkers.org/News/News-Releases/ID/2513/New-York-Social-Worker-Silas-Kelly-is-recipient-of-Rhoda-G-Sarnat-Award). It was said that I was selected because of the wide array of media related initiatives I was involved in that promoted the profession of Social Work. The letters of recommendation alluded to my work with students, schools of Social Work, and human service organizations. There was also mention of my podcast and the many segments that highlighted positive contributions that Social Work professionals make to improve society and to up lift others. The ceremony was held in Washington, DC on June 24, 2022 and it was a wonderful and humbling experience. I went from being “left out on a stoop in Brooklyn, NY” and feeling crushed and worthless, to being rescued by the wonderful profession of Social Work, and ending up on the stage in DC accepting an award for “significantly advancing the public image of professional social work”. The profession that meant so much to me through my early years. What an amazing Journey!

On June 19, 2023 this video production piece was released (https://facesoflongisland.newsday.com/copiague-social…/). By Newsday, a Long Island, NY Newspaper. In February of 2023, I was informed that the publication chose my “Faces of Long Island” interview, previously written and published in October of 2022 chronicling my journey from “Foster Care to Social Worker” as one of the few chosen to be turned into a video feature. Newsday’s Consumer Marketing Division produces the special feature called, “Faces of Long Island” which “celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs.” The link also makes the original article available as well.

On June 15, 2023 at the Annual Press Club of L.I. Media Awards Dinner, the “Kelsunn-on-the-Air” Social Work Podcast received two awards (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n_D_LzaDPJro3eJrDUQrsIyCz1mamPNr/view). The podcast was awarded 1st Place for “Solutions Journalism” in the Video category. This award was for my YouTube podcast interview with my mentor, Dr. Katharine Briar-Lawson entitled “Raise the Wage” advocating for more equitable salaries for Social Workers. The podcast also received a 3rd Place award in the “Best Use of YouTube” category for the interview I conducted with film producer, Greg D. Williams. He and I had an informative discussion about his ground-breaking film, “Tipping the Pain Scale” which took a hard look at the opioid epidemic and new approaches to dealing with it.

I am grateful to have discovered that this is the path I was destined to follow:
“From Foster Care to Broadcast Journalism to Social Work to E-Journalism
Social Work Advocate”!!! I walk this path gladly, gratefully, and joyfully and with
a sense of positive passion and purpose. I am truly blessed to have learned this.

In closing, I leave you with this that sums up my journey:
“I pay homage to my Biological Parents who gave me life, I pay homage to my
Foster Parents who made my life, and I thank God for the Social Work Profession
that saved my life”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely suggest eating at:

Mama Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant, 400 Furrows Rd, Holbrook, NY 11741

Nuvo Kitchen, 2367 Hempstead Tpke, East Meadow, NY 11554 (Carribean & Soul Food)

Mogu Asian Food

Dave & Busters Food & Games

Family Oriented Movie Theatres

Bowling

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
***My Wife and Three Daughters: Dr. Corinthia Price Kelly and my “3 Kelly Girls”
***My Biological Parents: The Late Mr. William Kelly, Sr. &
The Late Johnsie Mae Witherspoon
***My Foster Parents, The Late, Mr. & Mrs. Oden & Ruth Cox
***My 3 Deceased older Siblings: Ms. Nancy M. Brimfield, Ms. Mary L. Kelly, Mr. Willie H. Kelly
***My 4 Older Surviving Brothers, Mr. William Kelly, Jr., Mr. Jimmie L. Kelly, Mr. Samuel A. Kelly, Mr. Paul C. Kelly
***

Website: www.kelsunn.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsunn_on_the_air/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsunn-on-the-air/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kelsunn_on_air

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelsunn/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55g-wYQ_XYPorZQurh-dEw

Image Credits
Photo Taken by: Ms. Ashia R. Kelly