Social work is everywhere, and our members bring the values and unique perspective of our profession into numerous practice settings across the province.
Our annual awards program recognizes excellence and dedication in the field of social work, as well as the efforts of allied partners in the health and social sectors. The award announcement was held in autumn during the pandemic, but we’ve moved it to the spring this year to coincide with National Social Work Month; recipients will receive their awards at a presentation dinner in a few weeks. Because of this shuffle, we have the unusual pleasure of recognizing the recipients of the 2024 and 2025 CASW awards at the same time.
We’re delighted to announce our newest cohort of award recipients, and we hope you will join us in celebrating the remarkable contributions of our social work community.
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Distinguished Service Award
2024
Lynn Brogan, RSW
Lynn Brogan’s exceptional commitment and dedication to social work for over 40 years has been a beacon of inspiration to members of our profession in Nova Scotia.
Lynn holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Sociology) from the University of New Brunswick, a Bachelor of Social Work from Saint Thomas University, and a Master of Social Work from Dalhousie University. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, she has held an impressive range of social work positions during her career, including mental health clinician, frontline child protection social worker, supervisor, manager, program consultant, child welfare specialist, regional administrator, and executive director.
As a Regional Administrator of Community Services, Lynn led a team of over 400 staff delivering vital programs and services in central Nova Scotia. In her role as Executive Director with the Disabled Persons Commission, Lynn was instrumental in designing, developing, and implementing the province’s first accessibility legislation.
Lynn has fulfilled multiple roles at the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers, including volunteer contributions on several committees, a six-month stint on staff as Acting Executive Director/Registrar. Most recently she has been a member of NSCSW Council, as our Treasurer from 2018-2020, President from 2020-2024, and since 2024 as Past President, serving with incredible distinction.
In particular, Lynn’s unrelenting dedication to child welfare has led to significant policy changes that have direct, positive impacts on countless lives. She helmed the NSCSW’s committee on child welfare, leading them towards the creation of the “Child Welfare on the Brink” campaign in 2019. This campaign was instrumental in persuading the government to recognize and address the crisis in child welfare, and advocated for securing much-needed funding to ensure that vulnerable families could receive the support they need to improve their circumstances and provide a safer, more stable environment for children. Eventually, NSCSW and our community partners were able to win the creation of a stabilization payment for families with children in temporary care and custody whose eligibility for the Canada Child Benefit had been interrupted, to support their journey towards achieving reunification.
Her visionary approach to child welfare is also evident in her contributions to the NSCSW’s 2023 policy paper, Building an Ecosystem for Child and Family Well-being. Lynn has consistently advocated for a practice framework rooted in the values of the social work profession, a policy that was won through Lynn’s leadership, and adopted by government in 2023.
Furthermore, Lynn spearheaded and led advocacy for the creation of a child and youth advocate office in Nova Scotia. This office, which the government has finally agreed to create, will serve an essential voice for that province’s most vulnerable citizens, ensuring their needs and rights are not overlooked or ignored. It represents a major stride in child protection and advocacy, offering an additional layer of support and representation for children and youth within the system.
Promoting the role of social work in child welfare is of paramount importance. Social workers like Lynn play a crucial role in our society, tirelessly dedicating their efforts to protect and enhance the lives of people who would otherwise struggle to make their voices heard.
Ken Belanger Memorial Award
Patrick Maubert, SWC
Patrick Maubert is a dedicated social work candidate and creative leader committed to substance abuse recovery, the arts, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Since 2018, he has played a vital role in Halifax’s queer advocacy, serving as Halifax Pride’s Wellness Lead and co-founding Untoxicated Queers. As LGBTQ+ Program Manager at the MacPhee Centre, he created the Queer Arts GSA, and through the former AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia (now HEALNS), he founded the Peer N Peer Project. A seasoned performer and director, Patrick has worked internationally in musical theatre and served as Staging Director of the London Gay Men’s Chorus. He continues to champion inclusive, accessible, and compassionate cultural spaces.
Diane Kays Memorial Award
Michelle Peters, RSW (Clinical Specialist)
Michelle is a 3rd year PhD Ed student at ST. Francis Xavier University; her research is centred on clinical work with Indigenous people in Mi’kma’ki. She has been providing clinical supports to Mi’kma’ki for over 13 years. Her private practice, Etli Npisimkek Counselling and Consulting Services, is grounded in the principles of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), culture, and traditional spirituality.
Michelle is an educator, having taught courses for St. Francis Xavier, Dalhousie University. She recently accepted an opportunity to teach in the Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqey Social Work Program at St. Thomas University for the summer 2025.
Additionally, Michelle provides regular customized learning and develops training for Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups and organizations on a variety of topics related to health, wellbeing, decolonizing and Indigenizing practice.
Michelle provides consultation services throughout Mi’kma’ki on best practices, policy, ethics and the like.
Michelle sits on various committees, and does other volunteer work in her community. She is the coordinator of the Piktukewaq Traditional Mawio’mi (Pictou Landing Pow Wow), and as a direct descendant of Indian Residential Schools she supports the annual Truth and Reconciliation activities in her community.
Michelle and her husband Matt (US Marine Corps war veteran) are Advanced Medical First Responders. Together, they enjoy giving back to their community by growing and teaching about traditional medicines and gardening. Together, with their service dog Copper, they are providing wraparound supports for all those met upon their journey.
David Connor Williams Memorial Award
Leann Revels, RSW
Leann Revels is a children in care social worker with Mi’kmaw Family and Children Services, and has worked with this agency for close to 8 years. Before pursuing social work, she spent years as a child and youth worker.
Leann’s nomination for this award came from a foster parent who described her as demonstrating commitment, empathy, dignity & grace in her interactions with families of origin, foster families, and most importantly the children she supports on her caseload. She shapes her practice around the idea that every child needs at least one caring adult in their corner who believes in them and provides them unwavering and unconditional support. Leann regularly and quietly goes beyond the call of duty, and embodies the very values this award is meant to represent and promote in our profession.
Ronald Stratford Memorial Award
Kuli Malhotra
Kuli Malhotra is the project lead for Bereaved Families of Nova Scotia. He joined the Bereaved Families team in 2021 seeking to make a difference in supporting the mental health and well-being of Nova Scotians.
With academic qualifications in multiple disciplines, 20 years of international experience in not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, he combines knowledge, experience and systems-based thinking to address unique community and organizational needs. He is passionate about community action and has been involved with several transformational projects in Nova Scotia that have supported social development, the environment and vulnerable populations. As a thought leader, he remains at the forefront of emerging trends and best practices, ensuring that his clients stay ahead in today’s dynamic business landscape.
Kuli’s past projects in Nova Scotia have included work in the disability support sector, social enterprise, integrated community sustainable planning and climate change. Known for his collaborative approach and strong communication skills, Kuli builds trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.
Since 2023, Kuli and the rest of the team at Bereaved Families are building relationships with mental health collaborators to bring grief programs to all Nova Scotians and implement a sustainable model for grief support in the long-term.
Social Justice Ally Award
Julie Chamagne
Julie Chamagne has been the Executive Director of the Halifax Refugee Clinic for 17 years. Legally trained in France and the UK, she previously worked with Amnesty International in Paris.
Julie can usually be found in the office with a cup of coffee, managing paperwork, researching country conditions for a refugee claim, calling around to find emergency housing, meeting with a client, making more coffee, preparing a funding application, giving a media interview, taking out the garbage, reporting on a funding application, or trying to troubleshoot the scanner…
She is so deeply proud of the work of the HRC and its growth over the years and is in awe of her wonderful staff, who advocate tirelessly every day for some of our community’s most marginalized community members, refugee claimants and non-status migrants.
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Distinguished Service Award
2025
Jack Landreville, RSW
Jack has had the honor of serving the people of Mi’kma’ki / Nova Scotia for many years. He graduated with an MSW degree from Carleton University in 1992. His guiding principles from the beginning have included respect for the dignity and worth of each person and contributing to the community with kindness, humility, and wisdom. He has worked with the Inpatient Service of the Nova Scotia Hospital and has been a member of the ethics committee there.
In 1995, he accepted the challenge of being part of the amalgamation of several facilities serving the mental health needs of children and adolescents into one service managed by the IWK Hospital for Children and Families and he served in the day treatment and inpatient programs there. Jack was then asked to be part of the transformation of the Provincial Forensic Psychiatry Service from an assessment and custodial program to a psychiatric rehabilitation model and he played a valued role in this transition. The emergence of the East Coast Forensic Hospital in 2001 allowed Jack to engage in assessment, advocacy, and community reintegration , which included development of province-wide policies and guidelines for the discharge of forensic clients through participation in negotiations with the provincial government.
His greatest challenge of all continues to be community frontline work as a member of the Dartmouth Community Mental Health and Addictions team (Nova Scotia Health). In this role, clinical social work practice collides daily with marginalization and increasingly harsh societal inequities. He finds his patients to be profoundly resilient and inspiring. His practice includes clinical supervision and mentoring, liaison with many community organizations, and testimony in family and criminal court matters.
The NSCSW Board of Examiners has benefited from 12 years of Jack’s generous service and leadership, which culminated in his chairing the Board for two years until his final term ended in 2024. Jack’s work with the NSCSW has been rooted in a love for the profession which has provided a home for his heart and his skills, and there is much he still wants to contribute.