Chapter Board of Directors

Current Board Officers

Featured below are the current NASWCO Chapter Board Officers.  You may find information on additional board members at Region/Student Representatives and Committee Chairs.

To reach a Board Officer please contact the Chapter Office via the Contact Us form on this website.

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President  (2020 - 2022)

Julie Clockston, DSW, LCSW (she/her)

Dr. Julie Clockston, DSW, MSW, LCSW, is the founder of Julie Clockston Counseling LLC DBA Therapy Rocks and Co-founder of SOAR Colorado LLC, an agency for individuals diagnosed with developmental/ intellectual disabilities. Dr. Clockston is the mother of four and considers them to be her greatest gifts in life. She is an off-site field instructor for BSSW and MSW students at Arizona State University (ASU) and Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSUD) where she is also an alumna. She had the honor of being the Student Association of Social Workers (SASW) Vice President 2015 during her MSW program. She is the proud recipient of the inaugural 2018 NASW CO Early Career Social Worker Award. She recently received her Doctor of Social Work degree from Capella University. She is a member of the Denver Chapter of the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), board member of the Colorado State University (CSU) Parents and Families board and president of The Association for Successful Parenting (TASP) where she serves on the Education Committee.

Dr. Clockston is a former Colorado state licensed therapeutic foster parent and has dedicated her career to working in mental health care for 24 years. She has a background in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis on domestic violence from the Community College of Denver. Outside of the scope of her social work designation, she has infused human service into all the work and trades she has participated in. She has worked in the community as a licensed real estate broker who had a passion for working with socioeconomically marginalized individuals and first-time home buyers. She specializes in a variety of therapeutic modalities, but it is her extensive study and time working with individuals who have experienced trauma that allows her to provide special care to individuals who have been victimized.

“I will utilize my authentic leadership style to incorporate a Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) oriented presence on the board. I will utilize my eclectic and diverse experience with practice, and academic experience. I will use my abilities in service of the NASW members, profession, and association on primarily the local level but also extend that to the national level where appropriate. I am very passionate about social work, and upon reflection, I have found that I am social work oriented in most all things done. My passion is for the populations that we serve and our profession as a whole. I am committed and excited about the opportunity to work and to learn with our local board, national board, members, and social work affiliates. There are so many amazing layers of social work. I am excited about learning ways to contribute and be of service, advocacy, local, national and global awareness regarding injustices, strengthening on all levels of systems from micro to macro, empowering my colleagues who are my everyday heroes and learning ways to strengthen our communities as well as what barriers are inhibiting us in our social work practice. I would like to see us evolve locally and garner more presence both in person and strengthen our reach within venues such as social media.”

Vice President (2020 - 2022)

Amanda Marsh Baranski, DSW, LCSW (she/her)

Hello NASW-Colorado members! I am a licensed clinical social worker who has lived in Colorado since 2012. I received a BS in Sociology from Central Michigan University.  After taking a year off to soul-search, I attended the University of Michigan and completed a Masters in Social Work with a concentration in interpersonal practice and mental health. Shortly after graduating with an MSW, I decided I wanted to continue learning more about social work in the Veterans' Administration and completed a post-graduate fellowship in psycho-social rehabilitation and recovery for severe mental illness through the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut and the Yale School of Medicine. In May 2018, I graduated with a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work from Rutgers University - New Brunswick. In my current role, I serve BSW students at Metropolitan State University of Denver as the BSSW Interim Clinical Field Faculty. I have had the privilege of serving as a co-NASW Denver Region Representative from 2014-2018 and am honored to continue to serve NASW-CO members in the capacity of Vice President.

Secretary (2021 - 2023)

Vanessa E. Alarcon, MSW, LCSW (she/her)

¡Hola! I have lived in Colorado since 2006 and currently reside in Broomfield County. I attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI where I received my BS in Psychology and my Masters in Social Work with concentrations in mental health and marriage and family therapy. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been working in an outpatient setting for the last four years. I am currently working towards becoming a Licensed Addiction Counselor and obtaining the Academy of Certified Social Workers credential through the NASW. Outside of my clinical work, I have participated in advocating for marginalized groups through campaigns with a variety of organizations, including the Broomfield Public Health Department, the Mexican Consulate of Denver and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. I have accepted invitations to provide workshops and seminars focused on mental health to schools, faith communities, and community organizations in Colorado and across the country. I am honored to serve as the Board Secretary for the NASW-CO Chapter and am looking forward to enhancing our professional development and advocating for social change through this role.

President-Elect (2022)

Saira Malhotra, MSW, LCSW (she/they)

Saira is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with their own psychotherapy practice in Denver, CO. She obtained her Bachelor's degree at Boston University, where she explored her interests in systems and mental health through research and direct service. This work motivated her to pursue training as a psychotherapist through a Master's degree in social work. She has since trained and practiced with clients from a wide range of backgrounds, in a variety of settings throughout the Greater Denver Area. She is also co-leading a study about the decolonization lens for psychotherapy.

While she enjoyed her work as a researcher and psychotherapist, Saira was yearning for a meaningful way to address the impact of systems on clients' lives. Clinical training had always seemed overwhelmed by this topic, and rarely offered a space for collaboration and guidance. Saira's desire became even more pressing throughout 2020 and 2021, during which systemic failures were intensifying. She began challenging systemic narratives with her clients, which opened up possibilities for healing she had not thought possible thus far in her career. By interacting with systems in clients' lives, she began to develop insights relevant for addressing the country's ongoing mental health crisis.

Saira ultimately hopes to apply these insights through a position as NASW CO's Board President. Her ultimate goal is to create a platform for social workers to contribute to public discourse about the impact of systemic failures on our collective well-being. They also intend to specifically advocate for social workers' needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond.