We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lucritia Stewart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lucritia below.

Lucritia, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I grew up in the DMV area, which is considered “The Federal Government Hub”. When I turned 15 years old I was eager and ready to start making my own money! (I hate asking for things!). My very first job was at Sears, in my local mall as a cashier. HATED IT! My second job was working at Red Lobster as a hostess. HATED THAT EVEN MORE. So after my 16th birthday my parents told me about an opportunity to work as a summer intern with The Federal Government. They stated that our cousin told her about the opportunity and that I should apply. I was so excited about this opportunity I made my mom do the application for me LOL

That spring I was selected to be an intern with the Human Resource department at the Department of State in in Washington DC. I absolutely loved working at DOS! My duties consisted of assisting the HR officers with vetting and processing Foreign service agents for orientation. I was able to speak with people from all over the world! I felt very valued and loved by my department, and every summer break and winter break from my 10th grade year up until I graduated from undergrad I worked at DOS. I even worked there part time while completing my Master of Social Work degree at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work.

From 2007 to 2015 I interned at the Department of State which equated to five working years within the federal government. This allowed me to have a Career conditional status, and once I graduated with my MSW degree I was able to easily transition to a Social Worker Position at The National Institute of Health, MY DREAM AGENCY! Since earning my MSW, I have been able to transition to different positions within the Government, and now at 31 years old I have over 10 years as a federal government employee, and I am eligible to retire way before I am 65. My parents saw an opportunity to help me grow personally and professionally, and for that I am forever grateful. So if you are reading this Mom and Dad, I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Lucritia, affectionately known as “Cri” is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia with over eight years of clinical social work experience as a Medical/Psychiatric Social Worker. Lucritia is currently a Public Health Advisor for the Federal Government, and has experience in providing direct clinical services to pediatric, adult and geriatric population in inpatient and outpatient medical facilities, as well as community based settings. She is considered an expert in psychosocial assessments, identifying resources and developing results oriented solutions for all populations.

Since earning her Master of Social Work degree, Lucritia has dedicated herself to cultivating and educating young black social workers through resource finding and networking in the DMV area. Although she has done this informally since 2015, Lucritia decided to create Bold Black Social Worker, LLC, a platform to give our area’s bold black advocates a safe atmosphere where you can focus on your professional development and personal well-being. Lucritia strives to support the social work community by guiding others in achieving their highest potential through affordable clinical supervision, career & case consultations, as well ASWB/NASW Board Certified CEUS and networking events throughout the Washington D.C Metropolitan area.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Growing up I always wanted to work in a hospital. Initially I wanted to be a nurse, however I am horrible at math, so I decided to transition my career path to Medical social work. I absolutely loved my job. Throughout my career I have worked in various inpatient Hospitals throughout the DMV. National Institute of Health, Howard University Hospital, as well as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to name a few.

In 2020, 5 years after earning my Masters of Social Work degree I felt that I was becoming complacent in my career. I felt that I could do inpatient medical social work with my eye closed and my hands tide behind my back. I felt that I knew everything there was to know about my area of expertise, and I was not growing professionally.

So I decided to take a step in another area of Social work, PUBLIC HEALTH. I knew that I only had experience as a medical social worker, however I was determined to tap into this field. I went on several interviews throughout 2021, and in August of of that year, I was offered a GS13 position as a Public health advisor for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

I took a leap of faith and I absolutely love my new role! I am also able to use my clinical social worker skills to assist different grantee’s of SAMHSA with community organizing. I am so glad that I decided to step out of my comfort zone into a new career field.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

What has been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele is developing genuine relationships. Since starting Bold Black Social Worker, LLC, I have learning that I am a lot more introverted that I thought. I tend to be extremely quite around people I am not familiar with, and I also used to have a very hard time promoting myself and my business. Luckily throughout my career as a social worker, I have built long lasting relationships with co-workers , and class mates who understand that networking is not my strong point.

Over 70 percent of my clientele were received based on word of mouth. My colleagues, family and friends boasted Bold Black Social Worker, LLC to where it is today. When you’re great in your field, you work speaks for you, and I am a testament of that !

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BBSOCIALworker.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/boldblacksocialworker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boldblacksocialworker/

Image Credits
Photos by Mercicart Media