On September 15–16, 2026, Dordt University's Master of Social Work program will host the inaugural Called to Care Conference. This complimentary event is designed to equip, encourage, and connect faculty who teach in the helping professions at Christian colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.
Keynote From Brokenness to Shalom: An Integral Christian Vision for the Helping Professions
Dr. Erin Olson
What makes Christian helping truly distinctive? Is it the techniques we use, the settings in which we serve, or simply the addition of faith-based practices to our work? This keynote will support faculty across the helping professions to consider a deeper question: How does a Christian worldview fundamentally shape our understanding of what it means to help?
Drawing from the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, this session will explore how a Reformed perspective reframes our view of people, suffering, justice, and human flourishing. Participants will examine how concepts such as the image of God, shalom, vocation, community, and hope transform the goals and practice of social work and other helping professions. Rather than seeing individuals primarily as problems to be solved, this approach calls us to recognize each person as an image bearer and to understand helping as participation in God's ongoing work of restoring creation. Participants will be challenged to move beyond symptom reduction toward a richer vision of human flourishing—one that inspires humility, faithful presence, and hope as we serve our students, clients, communities, and churches.
9:45 - 10:00
Networking Break & Breakout Session Transition
10:00 - 11 a.m.
Breakout Sessions Neurobiology, Dr. Tara Boer Global Learning in Practice: Off-campus Experiences, Dr. Leah Mouw, DSW, LISW, Julie Van Otterloo, LMSW Biblical Counseling, Dr. John Thompson
11:00 - 11:10 a.m.
Transition to Chapel
11:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Chapel
12:10 - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch & Networking
1:00 p.m. - 1:25 p.m.
MSW Presentation Dr. Erin Olson
1:25 - 1:30 p.m.
Break
1:30 - 2:10 p.m.
Campus Tour
2:10 - 3:10 p.m.
Social Work Panel Gain valuable career insights from a panel of Christian social work professionals representing a variety of practice settings and sectors. Learn how their faith, experiences, challenges, and successes are making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
3:10 - 3:30 p.m.
Closing Circle Dr. Erin Olson
5:00 p.m.
MSW Social An optional evening of networking, trivia, and food.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Dr. Erin Olson
Dr. Erin Olson, PhD, MSW, LISW, is a faculty member and program leader in social work at Dordt University. She has extensive experience in social work education and program development, with particular expertise in integrating Christian faith with evidence-based practice. Dr. Olson has played a key role in the development and expansion of social work programming, including the growth from a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program to the addition of a Master of Social Work (MSW) at Dordt.
Her professional interests include calling and social work education, faith integration, and innovative approaches to social work education such as simulation-based learning. She is passionate about equipping students to engage in compassionate, ethically grounded practice that reflects both professional standards and Christian faith.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Dr. Leah Mouw
Global Learning in Practice:Insights from the Uganda Studies Program Dordt University's undergraduate social work program recently explored the Uganda Studies Program and observed a variety of internship sites across disciplines. We will share key insights from the experience, including the impact of international internships on student learning, professional development, and cultural competence.
Dr. Leah Mouw, DSW, serves as assistant professor of social work and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program director at Dordt University. Her social work experience spans hospice, hospitals, schools, adoption, foster care, crisis intervention, and private practice.
Licensed in California and Iowa, Dr. Mouw is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), Narrative Therapy, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). Her research interests focus on the mental health crisis in adolescents and young adults, particularly stress and anxiety, as well as access to psychiatric care for children and adolescents.
Julie Van Otterloo
Global Learning in Practice:Insights from the Uganda Studies Program
Dordt University's undergraduate social work program recently explored the Uganda Studies Program and observed a variety of internship sites across disciplines. We will share key insights from the experience, including the impact of international internships on student learning, professional development, and cultural competence.
Julie Van Otterloo, MSW, serves as an instructor of social work and the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) field director. Van Otterloo has spent a majority of her career serving as an adoption specialist, adoption educator, expectant parent advocate, education grant coordinator, and master trainer for the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program through the National Council for Adoption. Most recently, she served as a hospice social worker.
Dr. Tara Boer
Neurobiology
Dr. Tara Boer serves as a professor of social work at Dordt University for both the BSW and MSW program. Her research interests include understanding how the various systems that interact with children after sexual abuse disclosure (child welfare, forensic team, therapy, CJ) impact their ability to heal. She has a special interest in neurobiology and its use and applications in social work and clinical practice with trauma survivors.
She is a licensed independent social worker (LISW) and is trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
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