Pioneers, per NASW, are “social workers who have explored new territories and built outposts for human services on many frontiers.”
Hamilton-Mason’s contributions, highlighted on the NASW website, include co-founding the Simmons School of Social Work’s Academy for Undoing Racism, as well as the Simmons chapter of the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW). With the NABSW, Hamilton-Mason founded the first National Task Force on HIV/AIDS. She also served as co-editor of a special issue of Health and Social Work focused on HIV/AIDS among people of color.
In addition, Hamilton-Mason is a trailblazer at Simmons, as the first African American woman to serve as a Full Professor in the School of Social Work (SSW), the first African American woman to serve as Director of the SSW, and the first African American woman to direct the Ph.D. Program at the SSW.
Much of her research focuses on evidence of incredible resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and in the coping mechanisms among African American women. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Polly Dickson Foundation, King Boston (now Embrace Boston), and the African Bridge Network.
Johnnie Hamilton-Mason will be honored as a newly elected Pioneer during NASW’s National Conference, taking place June 10–13, 2026, in Washington, DC.
