Rocío Calvo has always been guided by an ardent passion to not only extend assistance to communities in need but also to inspire systemic and sustainable change.
Now, as vice president of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Calvo has been able to advance this central mission of hers on an even larger stage.
Calvo, professor of global practice at the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) and assistant dean of community engagement, was elected to her new role in early 2025.
“[The SSWR is] a national platform where researchers can contribute their own research, share with others, and learn from each other,” said Calvo. “We use this rigorous research to design and test interventions, ideas, and policies that improve the lives of people.”
The SSWR aims to provide a space for research collaboration, helping social workers across the country apply their research to the betterment of communities.
“Their goal is emphasizing how to bring social work science research into practice,” said Gautam N. Yadama, professor and dean of BCSSW.
According to Yadama, Calvo is the right person to further this goal.
“In choosing her as vice president, they are advancing the core mission of this society—she translates her research to shape policy,” Yadama said.
Calvo said her passion for social work was first inspired through interaction with Jesuit formative education in Spain, where she was born and raised.
“Working with migrants is very central to the charism of Jesuits,” said Calvo. “I was very interested in working with migrants since I was a teenager—I have always done it. This passion has naturally developed professionally.”
According to Calvo, her career and research concentrate on Latinx immigrants, specifically those who are mostly monolingual speakers and live in underserved communities. This focus stems from her engagement with Ecuador and other Latin American countries before she began working in the United States.
“I traveled to Latin America when I was a teenager, and I’ve been involved with that community since then,” said Calvo. “I teach social workers the skills to effectively work with these communities. What happens at the border has an impact on these communities, regardless of where you are in the United States.”
At BCSSW, she is the founding director of the Latinx Leadership Initiative (LLI). The mission of this initiative is to teach Latinx social worker students the skills they need to effectively create long-term change for Latinx communities.
“I train leaders,” Calvo said. “They learn not only how to be exceptional social workers, but also to transform and enable systemic changes.”
María Fernanda Piñeros-Leaño, an associate professor at BCSSW, is a part of the LLI as a full-time faculty member. Piñeros-Leaño believes Calvo’s work, especially concerning this initiative, has had a huge impact on BCSSW.
“She has so much vision,” said Piñeros-Leaño. “For someone to be working the way she does and getting funding for this initiative is very inspiring.”
Calvo’s approach to social work is community-centered, meaning that she recognizes the importance of allowing the populations she works with to take charge in creating change.
“I work with people who are extremely vulnerable,” said Calvo. “I’m not gonna get anything right, no matter how good my research is, if I don’t do it with the community. I meet them, I listen to what they want to do, I listen to how they view the problem, and I listen to what solutions they think of. They are in the driver’s seat.”
Currently assuming leadership roles within both BCSSW and the SSWR, Calvo believes there is substantial overlap between both positions.
“Their missions are totally aligned, given that areas of research are similar across the country, although the context may be different,” said Calvo. “Once you have the same mission and the same values, it’s very easy to do work within both roles, and they intercept 100 percent.”
Calvo is approaching the end of the first year of her term, and she says that the main focus of her time so far has been learning.
“I’m learning a lot from meeting so many wonderful people from this national platform,” said Calvo. “I already knew many people in social work, particularly those that shared my interests, but now my horizons are opening to people that I would not have encountered otherwise.”
As vice president, Calvo gets to pursue her life’s passion while serving as a leader for all of those in the field of social work.
“I am very excited to advance rigorous research that addresses the most pervasive needs of the population at this given time,” said Calvo. “I feel very passionate about being able to see the sustainable impact that occurs when you modify systems.”
There exist several responsibilities that encompass the vice president’s role in the SSWR, including the organization of the annual conference.
“I’m in charge of organizing the annual conference next year,” Calvo said. “I have a duty to identify those needs and bring them to this annual conference. I have to consider what kind of training opportunities or workshops can prepare social workers for the skill set they need.”
Amid a decline in funding for social work research, Calvo is also focused on dismantling these barriers of access within the SSWR.
“We conduct research that points to what the barriers are and what mechanisms we can use to effectively tear them down,” Calvo said. “The society’s research is objective, so as to show that by providing communities access to resources, there are ripple effects that benefit everyone.”
Piñeros-Leaño says that Calvo’s role as vice president of the SSWR is advantageous to BCSSW.
“It’s definitely a huge recognition,” said Piñeros-Leaño. “It continues highlighting the work that BC is doing within social work in an even larger sphere.”
When asked about the legacy she wants to leave behind once her term as vice president is over, Calvo’s response is clear: she wants to uplift and provide lasting change.
“I want to move the needle, even if it’s a little bit, towards enabling this rigorous research that contributes to people’s well-being,” said Calvo. “That’s what I want to do in my life—to really study things that work.”