Story and photo by Ethan Schmidt
Rep. Aftyn Behn was at the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building on Thursday, Nov. 2 to speak to MTSU’s Department of Social Work about using macro social work to implement policy change.
The 11:30 a.m. lecture drew an audience of roughly 30 people, including students, professors, University Provost Mark Byrnes, Interim Dean of Behavioral Health and Sciences Michael Hein and Department of Social Work Chair Cathy McElderry.
According to Behn, the Tennessee House District 51 representative, macro social work asks, “What are the big-picture issues that are affecting the individuals?”
Erin Sheehan, the MTSU National Association of Social Workers ambassador, organized the event. She framed macro social work as the use of policy and legislative means to further empower social workers in meeting their communities’ needs.
“We wanted to invite Aftyn to come and talk to our MSW and BSW’s to mesh policy work with the social work,” Sheehan said, “because we really hear a lot about clinical work, therapy work, but we don’t hear how to change policy.”
“Macro work is tangible for social workers,” MTSU NASW Ambassador Phoebe Wade said. “They need to know that it’s not something that’s beyond our reach of certain folks. It’s tangible for all of us.”
The audience learned a lot about social work and policy change at the event. Behn spoke for about a half-hour on her career as a social worker, how that career led her to run for office this year and how it influences the policy objectives for her term. She also took time to answer a few questions from the attendees.
The legislator holds extensive social work experience at both the international and state levels. In 2016 — her final year at the University of Texas at Austin — Behn interned at the United Nations’ Refugee Agency in Geneva, Switzerland. She worked in the agency’s special protections unit for specialized refugee populations, which creates and distributes materials to other UN agencies on how to best support vulnerable refugee populations.
“I learned so much,” Behn said, “and it opened my eyes to the role the United States plays in foreign affairs, imperialism and colonialism.”
After her internship, Behn returned to her home state of Tennessee, where she worked as a community organizer at the Tennessee Justice Center, a healthcare advocacy group. TJC’s role in fighting for Tennesseans’ access to healthcare was especially important at the time she joined in 2017, as the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress were threatening cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
“I was in the thick of it,” Behn said. “Like, the thick of it. We were out driving to Houston and Humphreys counties, talking to their healthcare departments, trying to raise some concerns about these policies that Trump wanted to enact.”
Since then, Behn became increasingly active in Tennessee politics through her work for the Indivisible PAC and electoral organizing efforts for multiple Democratic candidates.
In 2019, she helped lead the Enough is Enough campaign, which aimed to oust former Rep. David Byrd over three allegations of sexual assault. The highlights of the campaign featured an overnight campout in the State Capitol and a series of arrests over disruptive protests.
Behn was also instrumental in organizing the March 30 State Capitol rally for increased gun control legislation as its press liaison. This was the protest where Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson became the Tennessee Three by disrupting a House proceeding, leading protesters in chants with a bullhorn.
After making strong community connections throughout the Nashville area and an underwhelming meeting with her former representative, Bill Beck, Behn launched her campaign on June 15 for TN House District 51 as an outsider candidate. She faced a competitive primary election against Anthony Davis.
“My opponent,” said Behn, “who’s a great guy — fantastic guy — announced he had the support of every single living Nashville mayor, the entire metro council, half the senate caucus, half the house caucus and the big money people within the national political elite.”
Behn’s years of community outreach paid off. She won the primary election by 700 votes — despite her opponent’s resources — and the general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic House District 51.
The representative will propose her first piece of legislation later this month, which aims to abolish grocery taxes, offsetting the cost by closing state tax loopholes that benefit corporations.
Sheehan hopes the event encouraged MTSU social work students to “get the fire lit.”
“We’re not going to be able to help constituents and clients if we don’t change some of the laws in Tennessee,” she said. “It’s not set up for the vulnerable communities — it’s set up to continue to help those who don’t really need that much help.”
Ethan Schmidt is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
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