Meet Michaella Conteh | Child Welfare Social Worker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michaella Conteh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michaella, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
My favorite quote is “Positive thinking leads to positive outcome.” This quote means a lot to me as it is something that I practice on a daily basis. It is so natural for us to always think about the negative outcome of a situation first before thinking about all the positive. I have also realized that when you think positive and manifest it then positive things will start to happen in your life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Michaella Conteh, MSW, ASW is a Child Welfare Social Worker, and University Adjunct Professor for the Department of Social Work. I graduated from California State East Bay with my Masters in Social Worker and as a Title IV-E student. I also graduated from Sacramento State University with my Bachelors in Child Development.

What I am most proud of is becoming an Author. In June 2021 I wrote a book and published a booked entitled, “How To Survive as a Child Welfare Social Worker.” First of all, never in a million years I would I have thought about writing a whole book and even publishing it. My reason for writing this book was that I realized that there was a need for upcoming social workers to know more about this particular area of social work and have an understanding of it. The book is an actual hands-on approach from my experience as a child welfare social worker who still works in the field.

I am where I am at today because of the Grace of God, and my hard work. It was not an easy journey at all. So many ups and downs, challenges, tears but with my faith and positive mindset I was able to overcome those barriers.

The lessons that I have learned along the way are to always stay true to yourself, set goals for yourself, have a good support network around you, reach out for help, pray, help people and have fun along the journey.

I want to be able to help as many people as possible that I can. I want to reach out to people who feel like they cannot do something because of a certain challenge in their life. My overall goal is to be able to connect with as many social workers as possible and specifically child welfare social workers. Working in child welfare is not easy at all, I want to be able to support, guide and help child welfare social workers through their journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

If my best friend were visiting the area and wanted to show her a good time, I would take her to San Francisco. We would get a hotel for the weekend so that way we can spend as much time as possible together. Spending time with my best friend is a major self-care for me.

We would first ride the Ferry that would take us around the Golden Gate Bridge, then we can also walk the Golden Gate Bridge and take some pictures to capture the moment. After, we would go and eat at Bubba Gump which is on Pier 39. After eating we would walk along the Piers, do some shopping, take some more pictures and enjoy the beautiful San Francisco scenery.

The next day we will explore Alcatraz Island the history and natural beauty. We will also go on a floating wine tasting on the Bay. It will be a great way for us to relax and enjoy the view around San Francsico Bay.

Last but not least we will do some more shopping at the major mall in San Francisco called Westfield San Francisco Centre and then go and relax at the hotel before heading out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to thank God for all that he has done in my life and for his continuous blessing. Without my faith in God, I would not be where I am at today. I have faced so many challenges in life and God have seen me through all of it. I also want to thank my late father, Micheal Coker and my mother, Mumcy Coker for all the scarifies that they both had to go through for me to be where I am at today. Additionally, I want to thank my family, friends, mentors, coworkers, who have supported me and continue to support me through this journey and provided me with words of encouragement.

Website: https://linktr.ee/childwelfaresocialworker

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childwelfaresocialworker/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/