Dr. Kelli Rogers, assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, has received the 2026 Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (CORSW) Community Impact Award from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), recognizing her commitment to strengthening communities through meaningful partnerships and preparing students to create lasting change.
Rogers views the communities she supports as partners that she works alongside, believing they already possess the knowledge and strengths needed to solve their own challenges.
Her work focuses on partnering with organizations to build capacity, empower local leaders and provide students with hands-on learning experiences that make an immediate impact.
"What makes this award special for me is that it's recognizing the work that I'm doing alongside communities rather than for communities," Rogers said. "Communities already have what they need to create the changes that are necessary. They just need to be resourced, supported and empowered."
Dr. Kelli Rogers poses for a photo. (Courtesy Photo)
Through UTA's Community Administrative Practice curriculum and her nonprofit organization, Beyond Visionary, Rogers connects students with nonprofit and community organizations where they help conduct needs assessments, develop programs, evaluate services, create logic models and even prepare grant proposals. Those experiences often extend well beyond the classroom.
"I position my students to present their proposals to organizations that could benefit from their ideas," Rogers said. "We've had organizations come back and say, 'We want to implement this proposal.' We've even had a student project grow into a funded program. What students see as an assignment can have real, meaningful impact."
To Rogers, the experiences students gain from working with organizations and communities build confidence on top of academic understanding.
"I tell my students all the time there's competence and there's confidence," she said. "Competence comes through their education. Confidence comes through experience. These opportunities allow students to translate what they've learned in the classroom into practice."
The award recognizes Rogers' efforts to bridge the gap between higher education and the communities UTA serves by creating partnerships built on trust, collaboration and mutual respect.
"We're not coming in to identify a problem and tell communities what the solution is," Rogers said. "We're coming alongside them. They're already doing the work. They're the experts. We're helping strengthen and empower them to better meet the needs they identify."
Receiving this award does more than highlight the work Rogers does daily, it affirms that her student-centered approach leads to lasting change.
"More than anything, this award affirmed that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing work that aligns with my purpose.My purpose is to empower students and help them discover their passion within the field.I intentionally connect the classroom to the community so students have the opportunity to work on real projects that address real challenges, not just hypothetical ones. In the process, I have the privilege of watching both students and communities grow together, and that's one of the most rewarding parts of what I do,” said Rogers.
Although the award bears her name, Rogers is quick to credit those around her, expressing the importance of trust in the relationship between the University and the communities the students support.
"It's really beyond me," she said. "It's the students doing the work, the organizations that trust us to partner with them and the collaborative relationships we've built together. Everyone benefits. Students gain experience and confidence, communities gain support, and I get to see the meaningful impact that happens when we work together."