President and Chair
Gary Bailey is currently a Professor of Practice at Simmons College School of Social Work and at the Simmons School of Nursing and Health Sciences. At the School of Social Work, he is the director of the Urban Leadership Certificate Program and coordinates the Dynamics of Racism and Oppression sequence.
He also chairs the School of Social Work Awards Committee; is Chair of the Simmons College Black Administrators, Faculty and Staff Council (BAFAS); is a past member of the Simmons Faculty Senate; is a member of the Simmons Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC), and co-Chaired the Simmons College Initiative on Human Rights and Social Justice.
In 2010 Professor Bailey was elected President of the International Federation of Social Workers. He is the first person of color to hold this post and only the third person from the United States to do so. IFSW is a federation representing over 90 countries and 746,000 social workers globally. He is a past president of the North American region of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) located in Berne, Switzerland having served in that role from 2003 until 2006. He was appointed as the inaugural Chair of the Policy, Advocacy and Representation Commission (the PARC) in August 2006 where his responsibilities included the review of existing and the development of new policies; and he oversaw the IFSW representatives at the United Nations in Nairobi, Geneva, and New York City and Vienna.
In 2010 he was appointed to the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) Global Commission. He previously served on the board of the North American and Caribbean Association of Schools of Social Work representing CSWE.
He is vice-chair of the board of Women of the Dream, Inc. a national nonprofit organization based in Camden, NJ whose primary focus is to enable socially and economically girls, ages 12-18, to achieve their fullest potential and lead purposeful, healthy lives with guidance and education. The organization is dedicated to building community and empowering the leaders of tomorrow. Women of the Dream, Inc.’s lead partners are the Campbell Soup Company, The Office of the President at Simmons College, the PSEG Foundation, the Nicholson Foundation, The Wealthy Women Club, and sponsorship dollars from the New Jersey Education Association.
In 2009 he was appointed by the Honorable Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts, to serve on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA). MEFA, created 30 years ago, is a self-financing state authority, not reliant on state or federal appropriation which sells bonds to help undergraduate and graduate students fund higher education. To date, MEFA has issued approximately $4.2 billion and bonds and has assisted hundreds of thousands of families in financing a college education. At MEFA he chairs the Nominating Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee. He was reappointed by Governor Patrick to a term ending in 2019.
He is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) Board of Ambassadors and the AIDS Action Advisory Council. He is a member of the board of the Fenway High School in Boston where he serves on the Governance and Facilities committees; is a member of the board of the Friends of Titus Sparrow Park and the Friends of Harriett Tubman Park, both in Boston. He is a member and a Trustee of Union United Methodist Church (UUMC) in Boston.
Professor Bailey was the Chairperson of the National Social Work Public Education Campaign. He is a former member of the NASW Foundation Board of Directors. He is a past President of National NASW having served as President from 2003 until 2005. He was President-elect from 2002-2003. His tenure at NASW National has included serving as the NASW National 2nd Vice President from 2000-2002 and as the Associations Treasurer from 1995-1997. He was also the President of the Massachusetts Chapter of NASW from 1993-1995
Professor Bailey is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. He was named Social Worker of the Year by both the National and Massachusetts NASW in 1998. He was made a Social Work Pioneer by NASW in 2005, making him the youngest individual to receive this honor and joining individuals such as Jane Addams and Whitney M. Young. Professor Bailey received the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Connecticut in May 2013.