M7: Advancing Macro Social Work Practice: Your Voice Matters

Nicholas Bailey is the Deputy Director of Quality at North Carolina Medicaid. He is a prior Corpsman in the US Navy where he gained significant medical experience across three continents. Nick brings with him 18 years of experience in leading community and state initiatives from reducing barriers to care, improving substance use treatment access, improving mentorship programs for underserved youth and veterans, working with military and non-military families, sustaining solution-focused interventions at all levels, and teaching across multiple professions. He serves on multiple state lead and national committees aimed at driving health equity, access, and quality of care for all. Nick loves teaching, connecting with others, and sharing his passion for all things Beekeeping as he works toward Apiculture sustainability, environmental recovery, and mentorship in Western NC.

Dr. Amber Moodie-Dyer is the Practicum Director in the Department of Social Work at Appalachian State University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has a graduate certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy. She has worked in several nonprofit settings in the fields of community outreach, policy and advocacy, and direct practice in four different states over the course of 20 years on issues ranging from education and afterschool programming, neighborhood vitality, substance abuse prevention, community development, affordable housing, child care and early education, environmental justice, social and economic policy, and hospice. Amber is originally from Missouri where she obtained her MSW from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003, obtained her PhD in Social Work at the University of Missouri in 2011, and worked as a community organizer. She also lived and worked in Minnesota working in the area of child care policy, and in Columbus, Ohio where she taught in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University. Prior to her position at Appalachian State University, Amber worked as a Policy Advocate for the North Carolina Justice Center, an Outreach Coordinator with Appalachian Voices, and as a Medical Social Worker in Hospice in Boone, NC. Amber currently lives in Vilas, North Carolina with her husband Joe and dog Huckleberry, and enjoys cooking, hiking, running, fishing, writing and art making of all kinds.