Nancy Rodriguez-Rios

March is Social Work Month.
This  is recognition by the National Association of Social Workers of the many unsung heroes who help people in their time of need and are loyal to a profession not known for its generous pay.

“Empowering Social Workers – Inspiring Action, Leading Change” — is the 2024 theme.

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or an animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 advice from his “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech, delivered a day before he would be assassinated, is textbook inspiration for anyone aspiring to become a social worker.

 That same year, then-Nancy Rodriguez graduated from Sacramento’s Luther Burbank High School, hoping very much to become a social worker – an agent on the front lines of compassion and change during an era rocked by social upheaval.

“It was the ‘60s,” Nancy recalled, “and I always had the feeling I should be doing something for the people.”

After studying at Sacramento City College for two  years, Nancy enrolled at Sacramento State University to pursue her dream.

But for a class in statistics – a vexing obstacle for many who are challenged by math — she became, statistically, a social worker wannabe.

Instead, she followed in the footsteps of her mother and joined Pacific Bell – one of the many national Bells soon to become AT&T— and rose through the ranks, from clerk to management. 

Flash forward 30 years and Nancy Rodriguez-Rios retires from AT&T with a healthy pension and at a relatively young age –  still a penchant to become a social worker.

Returning to the classroom with the vigor of a young adult, Nancy  achieved her goal, graduating from Sacramento State with a bachelor’s degree in social work in 1999. She went on to earn her master’s degree not long afterward – at the ripe old age of 54.

“I became a ‘latent’ social worker,” said Nancy, who credits a sympathetic instructor with helping her to earn a solid “B” in statistics, the subject that blocked her preferred career track decades earlier.
At the onset of her second career, Nancy worked in foster care as well as a group home for older teenage boys about to emancipated.

Her big break, however, was an interview for a full-time social worker position at Wellspring Women’s Center. She was hired by Sister Judy Illig, the nonprofit’s executive director from 2003-17.

At Wellspring, Nancy would learn to fully appreciate the challenges of her new career and also be graced with a lifetime of friendships.

“I had a few other jobs in the industry but Wellspring is my favorite job, place,” said Nancy, who reported weekdays to the nonprofit’s home, the old Oak Park firehouse, from 2007-09.
She quickly learned that a relatively small nonprofit operates  quite differently than the corporate world, which emphasized structure, certainty and work rules.

Nancy also  developed a deep appreciation of what it takes to keep Wellspring’s mission on track, with its limited staff, loyal volunteers, reliable donor pool and a nip-and-tuck budget.  

In an instant, the needs of the moment will often subsume staffers’ daily routines – regardless of job title.

 This was the case when a truck full of donated disposable diapers arrived late in the day at Wellspring, with only her and Sister Judy on hand to lug many-many boxes up the steps to the second floor for storage.

“It definitely was a challenging chore,” she recalled.

Nancy regrettably left her post at Wellspring for a variety of reasons – including the need to care for an aging father and a yearning to see the world while she could. An adventurous itinerary would take her to places including Peru and its Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, post-embargo Cuba, Guatemala and European destinations, including Italy.

But even though Nancy left Wellspring, Wellspring never left her.

Currently, she commutes from her Elk Grove home to Wellspring as a steadfast volunteer.

Genelle Smith, Wellspring’s current executive director and a social worker colleague of Nancy’s, sings her praises as a “regular donor and just a cool human!”

 On Thursdays, Nancy may be helping out on the breakfast/lunch program serving line or checking out the crafts table, as guests busily crochet or knit under the instruction of Art Program Coordinator Missy Kinder.
Nancy, a young 73, enjoys mingling with old friends who are guests — and newer guests who inevitably become friends.

She is naturally gregarious and her social worker background comes in handy.

“Sometimes, the guests just need an advocate – someone with better command of the language,” she said.
“They’re just like family – I know their kids. We laugh and talk.”

The camaraderie, she says, is the magic.