Tami Gouveia (SSW’01) Runs for Lt. Governor of Massachusetts
According to Tami Gouveia (SSW ‘01), social workers make ideal public servants — meaning they are perfectly suited for a career in politics. “We need to do much better by the people of the commonwealth,” Gouveia says. “We need a public health champion. Who better than a social worker?”
An alumna of BU School of Social Work Class of 2001, Gouveia is running for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the upcoming election. She says her reasons for running are the same reasons she pursued a social work degree in the first place. “Growing up in Lowell, I always wanted everyone to thrive,” Gouveia explains. That sense of social justice was regularly put to the test. “I saw first hand the xenophobia and discrimination against traumatized Cambodian refugees who had fled from unbelievable circumstances to the United States. I had friends in grade school who didn’t have enough heat in winter, or who suffered from domestic violence, or whose parent had a substance use disorder.”
“These problems aren’t new.” Gouveia points out. “We still struggle with all of them today. But experiencing these problems first hand was what made me pursue an undergraduate degree in political science and women’s studies. After that, I worked in residential treatment and was exposed to the need for clinical intervention. I was a counselor for these young girls who suffered from extreme cases of abuse and neglect. Working with them inspired me to find a graduate school that focused on policy change in urban populations, but also clinical work. I was attracted to BU School of Social Work’s solid reputation in clinical work, systems change, and policy change. I wanted to put my effort into ensuring families have what they need to thrive.”
Gouveia decided to pursue a dual degree in social work and public health. “I wanted to ground my social work experience in public health. The rigor of the science work in public health — biostats and epidemiology — those were the things that compelled me to get a dual degree.” She goes on to emphasize that both social work and public health would always have been her path. “If I had started my graduate work at BU School of Public Health, I would have then gone on to the School of Social Work. The fields have such similar roots in how they started. I fully identify as a public health social worker.”
Choosing to pursue a career in government was a natural next step for Gouveia. “A lot of people ask me why I chose to work in government instead of in public health or social work, but in my opinion, I do my public health and social work practice at the government level. Government impacts our health and wellbeing. When constituents or labor leaders learn that I’m a social worker, they know that I will understand their issues, needs, and the way they intersect with government policy. We need human-driven policies, and social workers understand how to put people at the center of policy. I was once a single parent trying to manage a $60 a month grocery bill for several years. I know that people who are going through the same thing need reliable public transit, clean air and water, and affordable homes.”
While understanding the systems on a factual level is important, Gouveia also stresses that her time spent in social work has given her a real super power: good listening skills. “People want to feel respected; they want to be heard. Social work’s training in capacity building and education puts us in a really strong position when working to improve government systems. Consider how the current state administration handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts pushed for a process that centered elder citizens’ needs long before the vaccine rolled out: provide a 1-800 number in addition to a website, and make vaccinations available at locations that were already part of their routine instead of making them drive to mass vaccination sites. These are the people we need to listen to if we want to avoid inhumane systems. The administration blew them off. Some think the pandemic is behind us, but it’s not. We need to do much better by the people of the commonwealth and it shouldn’t stop with the pandemic. Time after time, so many decisions are being made by the current administration that are not helping us through the next big challenges: climate change, the opioid crisis, and racial and social justice.”
However, Gouveia’s social work influence goes beyond exceptional people skills. Her education also continues to ground and directly influence her decisions as a state representative: “Your ethics course never really leaves you,” says Gouveia. “I took my ethics course with Betty Ruth for dual degree students. It taught me that leadership is about leading with your values. I don’t abandon my principles and I care deeply about justice and equity. As a social work student in Betty’s class and as a legislator now, I tie those together in how I’ve taken stands as a politician. For example, I’ve never voted for a Speaker of the House because the very nature of an internal election maintains the status quo of white male supremacy.” Her choice to not participate in anti-democratic systems extends to a larger plan for a more equitable commonwealth government. “Massachusetts is infamous for entrenched incumbents,” says Gouveia. “I moved back to Lowell 14 years ago, and it wasn’t until 4 years ago that a seat opened up.”
She adds that the first step to a more equitable government is civic health. “Prior to getting elected into state legislature, I worked at Rethink Health. We know that all the vital conditions in the work we’re doing — humane housing, safe and clean environment, access to health care and preventative services — are determined by civic engagement. The more people are able to engage, the more you have individual agency and community agency — and the better public health becomes. Even something like autonomy over your body and the kinds of changes you’re able to make affect your mental and physical health. Without participating in your state and local government, you don’t have the opportunity to influence decisions that influence everything else. Participation means town meetings, city council meetings, zoning regulations, being on boards. It is critical that we create opportunities to make participation easier and reduce barriers for people to participate in our democracy.”
After four years of serving as a Massachusetts state representative, Gouveia’s move to run for lieutenant governor was the logical next step in her mission to improve the relationship between the state’s government and its people. “We need people in the corner office who are going to put the health of all of our residents at the center of decision making, not just a few special interest people,” says Gouveia. You can follow her campaign on her website here.