OCTOBER 7, 2026: Still Rooted: Clinical Capital, Leadership, and the Evolving Role of Social Workers presented by Markita J. Billups, LCSW, CPC, ACC

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
12:00PM - 1:00PM (EST)

Delivery: Live Virtual Interactive

Continuing Education: 1hr CE

Registration
$25.00 - Non ABCSW Members
Free for ABCSW Members!

 REGISTER HERE!

Speaker: Markita J. Billups, LCSW, CPC, ACC

Session Description:

“Still Rooted: Clinical Capital, Leadership, and the Evolving Role of Social Workers” explores the often-underrecognized capital social workers already carry: the judgment, relational skill, ethical grounding, systems awareness, and translation capability built through clinical training. As care systems become more complex and strained, these capacities are urgently needed at the forefront of supervision, program development, organizational leadership, consulting, and systems-level practice, where sustainable change is designed, decided, and led.

This session introduces the concept of Clinical Capital and breaks it into four practical components: diagnostic clarity (the ability to see what is actually happening versus what is assumed); capacity assessment (the discipline to assess what a person, team, or system can actually hold); sequencing under complexity (the judgment to determine what needs to happen first); and sustainable change (the instinct to build change that holds rather than change that is simply movement). These are not new skills; rather, they are clinical instincts, repurposed for roles and settings beyond traditional direct practice.

Drawing on a career spanning clinical practice, healthcare leadership, and consulting, this session will show how these four clinical capacities can become practical tools for leadership, decision-making, and sustainable change.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Define Clinical Capital and identify its four core components: diagnostic clarity, capacity assessment, sequencing under complexity, and sustainable change.

2. Explain how each component, rooted in clinical training, can be translated into leadership, supervision, program development, or organizational decision-making.

3. Recognize moments in their own career where one or more components of Clinical Capital are already present but underutilized.

4. Draft a brief personal Clinical Capital statement that names one transferable strength and how it shows up in your current role.

5. Articulate how Clinical Capital can move social workers from the margins of decision-making toward more visible leadership and identify one way to lead with greater clarity and authority in their current role.

Speaker Information

Ms. Markita J. Billups, LCSW, CPC, ACC

Markita J. Billups, LCSW, CPC, ACC, is a Licensed Clinical social worker, Certified Professional Coach, healthcare operations executive, and Founder of Blackbird Strategic Solutions. She brings more than 15 years of experience across clinical care delivery, operations leadership, and healthcare strategy, with a career spanning direct service, clinical operations, executive leadership, and organizational consulting.

Prior to founding Blackbird, Markita served as SVP of Operations at Oshi Health, where she helped scale a virtual specialty care company from early stage to national 50-state coverage. She grew the team from 10 to more than 150 employees while leading business operations, practice operations, and people operations through rapid growth. Her previous leadership roles include Vital Decisions, and Highmark Health, where she built and scaled clinical programs, led multidisciplinary teams, and translated complex care delivery needs into operational and business strategy.

Through Blackbird Strategic Solutions, Markita partners with mission-driven founders, operators, healthcare organizations, and clinical leaders through strategic advisory, Fractional COO support, executive and leadership coaching, and high-impact advisory intensives. Her work helps leaders strengthen strategy, clarify decisions, build sustainable systems, and navigate growth with greater operational and relational clarity.

Markita earned both her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from Temple University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Pennsylvania and Delaware and a member of the ABCSW. She is passionate about helping social workers and clinical leaders recognize their Clinical Capital and step more fully into their authority as leaders, strategists, and drivers of sustainable change.

Continuing Education
ABCSW, #1854, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit.  ACE provider approval period: 8/23/2024 – 8/23/2027.   Social workers completing this course receive up to 1 continuing education credit/hour.

Continuing Education Certificate Requirements
Registered event attendees must fully attend the chosen session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credits/Hours. Session evaluations include attendance attestation statements and must be completed within the same day as the attended session to be considered valid. To receive a Continuing Education Certificate, you must complete the attestation statement the session attended located in the session evaluation survey. The link to complete the overall conference survey will be emailed to all attendees after closing remarks on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Continuing Education Certificates will be electronically sent by Friday, October 30, 2026, via the email provided in your overall conference evaluation.

Photography Notice
Please note that photographs and screen captures may be taken during the event.  By registering, you are giving your consent for these images to be used by ABCSW in digital and print publications.  Please contact [email protected] directly should you have any concerns.

Refunds & Grievances
All refund requests must be submitted to [email protected] by Wednesday, October 7, 2026 to be eligible for a full refund (less $5.00 admin fee)
All grievances can be sent to [email protected] at anytime.