NASW Foundation National Programs

NASW Social Work Pioneers^®

Barbara K. Varley

Barbara Varley has had a rich and varied career in social work practice. She has made exemplar contributions to the fields of healthcare and mental health. She has been involved in academic excellence for her entire career, having taught many practicing social workers in a variety of academic institutions for over 30 years. She has written many scholarly papers.

Dr.Varley was actively involved in a number of predecessor organizations; she has served on the board of the California Chapter of NASW, the California Society for Clinical Social Work and the National Federation, where she has served in the positions of board member, Member-at-Large, President Elect and President. Most recently, she was the Federation’s representative to the task force charged in the re-writing of the NASW Code of Ethics.

Dr. Varley received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, and received her DSW from Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio.

She has been truly an inspiration to those young social workers she has instructed and a vast help to her clients over the years. She stands as a model of one who can straddle academic and clinical practice and do both more effectively as one individually, enriching both practice areas.

Social Work Pioneer - 1996