Congratulations to the 2025 NASW-Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Maxine (Max) Thome

Congratulations to the 2025 NASW-Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Maxine (Max) Thome, PhD, LMSW, MPH, ACSW

Awardee Bio:

I grew up in Pontiac Michigan as a Jewish child in the 50's and 60's. During that time, I learned about antisemitism and racism.  I remember swastikas carved into the doors of my temple and the desecration of the ark that housed the torah. I remember the busing of children of color and the hatred and resentment of white families.  I remember white flight and begging my parents to stay in our home and to not join in the racist movement out of Pontiac. I remember being an adolescent when the first Mexican family moved into my neighborhood and people were angry that they were there, yet my parents welcomed them. This was the time of the Detroit riots and the early civil rights movement.  I remember at age 9 becoming a Type 1 diabetic and being told that my life would be shortened because there was not a lot known about diabetes. I remember how there was an absence of adult providers who knew how to speak to a frightened child.  While these events clearly impacted my life, I did not know how to make things better. Throughout this time of injustices, my brother Joel, who was 11 years older than me, was my guide down a path for me which led me to see the need for social justice, and inspire me to devote my life to being an active voice for those who were not being heard, or accepted, or marginalized.
 
I entered MSU as an undergraduate, wanting to become a physician. I discovered I was dyslexic, and I struggled with math and chemistry, so I entered the psychology program. I found my way into social work by accident when a professor, Dr. Rabin, told me I should get an MSW. That’s just what I did. During my MSW studies, I spent as much time in protests of the Vietnam war as I did in the classroom (maybe more). The Women's Movement was also growing stronger, and I joined feminist groups advocating for women's rights, and safe abortions and reproductive health for all. I also became heavily involved in the protection of women experiencing domestic violence. The group I belonged to was instrumental in forming the first Domestic Violence shelter in Lansing. Following my MSW degree, I obtained a PhD in counseling psychology and a Masters in Public Health (MPH). I can honestly say that all the work I have done has been as an MSW. My MPH helped me to better understand the complex health care system. My MSW gave me the passion and tools to push the edges of the envelope for social change.

My private practice began in 1976 and has continued into the present. During that time, I collaborated with many members of the LGBTQ community, and it was through my connection with the community that I was able to share the secret I had kept for many years. That secret (which I knew since childhood) was that I am a Lesbian. I came home to myself.   In 1982 I read an article about a nurse who was treating the first man with AIDS in the Lansing community. I called her, as did another person. We began to meet to figure out how we could help in the growing epidemic. We started a Buddy System that later became the Lansing Area AIDS Network. I also started to work and provide free counseling to women who were working the streets. It was during this time that I became even more of a LGBTQ activist/advocate. During these years I continued my private practice, worked as a school social worker and an in-patient mental health therapist, ran a child sex abuse program at CEI CMH, worked as a supervisor at a hospice and later in a substance abuse agency as the director of a behavioral health residency program for family practice residents, and in various programs in public health for the state of Michigan.

After working in all these areas of social work I found my dream job as the executive director of NASW Michigan Chapter where I served for 20 years and helped solidify licensure. In my private practice I had begun working with transgender individuals. NASW enabled me to work with Stephen Rassi, Rachel Crocker-Crandall, and others to develop the training for clinicians and to openly address the issues facing the transgender community. My time at NASW allowed me to collaborate with many other social workers on key legislative and social issues. It also allowed me to work with and learn from many in the area of civil rights, challenges faced by BIPOC individuals, and to learn the importance of never giving up.   So, what am I doing now that I am "retired from NASW"? I have a full-time private practice. I love meetings and board work, so I serve on the Clinton Eaton Ingham (CEI) board of directors, the Lansing Area AIDS Network board, and the Board of Social Work. Recently, I started an activist/advocacy group for parents of transgender youth that meets monthly and is moving forward in our work with legislators and preparing to do more activism. I also share my home with my wife Sharon Ketchum, our 2 cats, and our 2 dogs.

"This award means more to me than many people know. These are hard times for many of us and NASW provides an opportunity to come together and organize for change. NASW is a vital organization for change. Much of my work has been as a change organizer and clinician. To be honored by NASW for this work is heartfelt and I want to honor all NASW members for their work. To be recognized by my peers for my professional and personal work is beyond significant.

I joined NASW in 1973, 52 years ago, and have worked in almost every aspect of social work. As a member, the structure and values of our association guided me in my activism, both inside and outside of the system and stimulated my efforts and effectiveness. For this I am deeply grateful.  The most important and meaningful aspect of receiving this lifetime achievement award from my peers is knowing that I am not alone, that there is a cadre of social workers joining me in our communities, committed to doing the work ahead. That is the greatest honor for this award indicates that each social worker is renewing their commitment to doing the necessary work of social justice."