Billy Russell
Faculty Liaison
| Degrees: | BSW (Carleton), MSW (Carleton) |
| Email: | BillyRussell@cunet.carleton.ca |
My name is Billy Russell, I am a Registered Social Worker with both a Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work Degrees. Since graduating from Carleton University in 2000 and 2001, I have been employed with Family & Children’s Services of Renfrew County [FCSRC] in various roles. My progression at this large social service agency has been from front-line child welfare worker to the management team in various Supervisory positions. I have represented our agency on community-based committees, at the provincial level in program development and as a trainer for the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.
My personal values and practice philosophies are that of fair, honest feedback while employing a strengths-based and solution-focused approach to work. The service directions at FCSRC of ensuring a lens of Signs of Safety; Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity, as well as striving towards our Indigenous Commitments have allowed me to express these values and goals in delivering course curriculums as a provincial trainer and contract instructor at Carleton University.
Overall, I am a lifelong learner and have a deep passion for giving back to those around me through mentorship, coaching and teaching. I have been able to do this through regularly attending training, keeping up with current readings relevant to the field of social work and the field of child welfare, social justice and leadership. As well as through opportunities to deliver training in several areas of Child Welfare practice with a prominent focus on Authorization/New Worker training, Investigative/Assessment skills and Forensic Interviewing in various contexts.
I am very happy and fortunate to have the opportunity to return to the Carleton School of Social Work as a contract instructor and faculty liaison. My best hope is to guide cohorts of social work students in their curriculum learning that will help them achieve their degrees; and also in developing self-awareness, critical thinking and reflexive habits in their emerging practice that will allow them to flourish and be successful in the field of Social Work. I believe that you cannot give what you do not possess and we must be mindful to close the gap between the ethics and values we speak of and follow and how we demonstrate those beliefs in our actions and service to others.
In my spare time, I enjoy music, reading and have recently taken to writing a blog on LinkedIN about all kinds of things that spark my interest and make connections to my work as a social worker, teacher, trainer and leader. The hope is to keep my own momentum of learning and to inspire others to #Staycurious.