The hallmark of social work is servant leadership. Carol J. Sheets is the epitome of such a leader, providing guidance and elevating the standard of social work practice at every level in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Ms. Sheets retired from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on January 31, 2014, after more than 26 years of federal service. She was the National Director of Social Work for Care Management and Social Work Services. During her career, Ms. Sheets championed the development of Veterans Affairs (VA) social work leadership training; established a VA and Department of Defense social work consortium; and was influential in interpreting the VHA social work qualification standards.
Ms. Sheets was also a very involved with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). She served on the committee that produced CSWE’s advanced military social work practice guidelines that specifies the specialized knowledge and skills that social work practitioners need to effectively serve military personnel, veterans, and their families. She also served on the Commission on Accreditation (COA) from 2010-2013 as the public member. Her service on the COA further enhanced the quality of social work education. Finally, Ms. Sheets was a passionate supporter of the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), a field based model for training advanced-level master’s social work students in geriatric competencies. The HPPAE model has been initiated in nine VHA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) sites and two non-GRECC sites to date.