Dr. Levine also serves as Adjunct Professor at Touro University and brings decades of experience in social work practice, social work education, ethics, and organizational leadership to this role.

Levine has been deeply involved with NASW NYC Chapter since earning his MSW, holding numerous positions including Vice President, Executive Committee and Board Member, Delegate to the NASW National Delegate Assembly, and Co-Chair of the Immigration and Global Social Work Committee. He also served on the Chapter Continuing Education and Ethics Committees and played an active role in the current transition effort unifying the New York City and New York State Chapters into a single statewide chapter—an initiative designed to enhance NASW’s ability to serve social workers across New York State and the five boroughs.

“The ethics committee is critical to the upholding of ethical standards in social work,” said Levine. “Our goal is to continue engaging around ethics to provide professionals with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and tools so that they can practice with greater ethical insight, commitment and action. Social workers are not only concerned with the ethical implications of their own direct practice, but they're also concerned with the ethical quality of society at large. I look forward to working collaboratively to enhance ethics education, foster professional development, and support ethical practice across New York.”

The NASW-NY Ethics Committee provides ethics programming, educational resources, and guidance on ethical dilemmas, working in coordination with NASW’s National Ethics Committee and Office of Professional Review.

In recent years, NASW has addressed a wide range of pressing ethical issues affecting social workers in diverse practice settings. Topics have included professional boundaries, privacy and confidentiality, end-of-life care, and related ethical dilemmas as well as ethical considerations in telehealth. The committee has also examined ethics related to contemporary social policy issues and special populations—such as aging adults, children in the welfare system, and individuals with oncology diagnoses—as well as the complexities of intimate partner violence, self-disclosure, and professional responsibilities during public health crises like pandemics.

A longtime scholar and advocate for ethical practice, Dr. Levine is the course lead and one of the faculty teaching the required social work values and ethics course at Touro University. He has published on ethics in professional journals and is currently co-authoring a forthcoming textbook on social work ethics to be released in 2026.

“This new role is a meaningful way to bring together my professional interests, academic work, and service to the field,” Levine said. “It also reflects the exceptional standing of the Touro University Graduate School of Social Work, and I am grateful to Dean Nancy Gallina and the university for their ongoing support.”

As NASW and the social work profession continue to navigate evolving ethical challenges in a complex social landscape, Levine’s leadership will help guide New York social workers in upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical practice.