Social work is a family business for Emily Bresnahan, ’13

Social work is a “family business,” says Emily Bresnahan, ’13. Her grandmother, her aunts, her sister, and her cousin are all social workers. For the last five years, she has been one too, working in the public defender’s office in Washington, D.C.

Social work requires empathy and compassion, Bresnahan says. It’s an innate part of who she is, and it’s also what she continuously trains for. “I still meet with my supervisor and go through not just my caseload, but we explore our own biases.”

Richmond is where she learned to see life from someone else’s perspective, even if it wasn’t through a social work major, which the university doesn’t specifically offer.

As an international studies major, she took classes ranging from anthropology to economics to theater. It exposed her to similarities and differences between the U.S. and elsewhere. More than anything, she “became interested in the ways we can help people,” she says. After graduation, she worked as an immigration paralegal, assisting with asylum applications and hardship waivers. The skills gained there lend themselves to the mitigation work she does today.

In her current role, she is part of the legal team for those accused or convicted of a crime. It’s her job to learn that person’s backstory and recommend resources and support while they’re incarcerated or being released. It could be a treatment plan for substance use disorders, or it could be writing about the complexities of their life to demonstrate they are more than the worst decision they have made. Some clients are as young as 16 years old.

Richmond helped her gain a holistic viewpoint without being pushed into one direction, she says.

“They gave me a comfortable space to look at things from multiple lenses and to keep exploring things. My dad would joke that I chose Richmond for the red brick buildings. Luckily for me, it also checked many other boxes.”