The National Association of Social Workers Foundation has honored Robyn Golden, LCSW, associate vice president of social work and community health, with the 2025 Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award for her work in advancing health and mental health policies that improve patient care.
The foundation cited Golden’s success in redefining the role of clinical social workers in health care.
For more than 10 years, Golden advocated for social workers to be eligible to provide Medicare patients with health behavior assessment and intervention services and greater access to other social work services. Golden met with state and federal leaders, including members of Congress, and White House staff, to share how to improve health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries by including social workers as eligible providers. In 2024, they were made eligible under a Medicare rule change
In addition to her associate vice presidency role, Golden is chair of the Department of Social Work at the College of Health Sciences; assistant professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Health Systems Management; and co-director of Rush’s Center for Excellence in Aging and the Center for Health and Social Care Integration.
“Robyn’s exceptional leadership and persistence have improved the health and quality of life of patients, not only at Rush but across the nation,” said David Ansell, MD, MPH, senior vice president for community health equity. “Her work has advanced the field of social care and community health tremendously.”
National Leadership and Advocacy
Golden serves on the RRF Foundation for Aging Board of Trustees. She is the founder and chair of the Coalition for Social Work and Health and has served as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee studying the integration of social needs care into the delivery of health care. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. An active member of NASW for 46 years, she is an NASW Social Work Pioneer.
Established in 1990, NASW Foundation’s Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award honors social work practitioners who share the values, ethics and approaches of the award’s namesakes: Ruth Knee (1920–2008) and Milton Wittman (1915–1994), who were both trailblazers in the mental health field.
