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About Dr. Hardy

Biographic Information 

 

Dr. Veronica L. Hardy is a national certified counselor, a clinical social worker with a license to practice, holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, and a Master of Social Work. ​

 

Career Highlights and Awards​​

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Dr. Veronica L. Hardy, LCSW, NCC is an author, speaker, and educator. She holds the distinctive legacy of being the first African American Full Professor (tenured) within the Department of Social Work at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Dr. Hardy eventually made the critical decision to transition from her tenured full professorship to non-tenure track roles to create more space for authorship, keynote speaking, and social justice initiatives including racial trauma, child sex trafficking prevention, mentoring African Americans and historically excluded groups in academia, confronting the social injustice of plagiarism of ideas/works from historically excluded groups in academia, and recognizing the diverse dynamics of grief and loss amongst mental health professionals.  

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She created and introduced the first asynchronous and hybrid courses within the social work program at Colorado State University Pueblo, and she offered faculty development opportunities for online teaching. She chaired the MSW program curriculum committee and the committee for the development of a new online MSW program at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, which successfully began offering classes in August 2023.

 

Influenced by the steps of one of her role models and previous MSW Program Chair (West Chester University), Mildred "Mit" Joyner, Dr. Hardy pioneered the initial design for a new MSW Program at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA in February 2023. This design, submitted as part of the CSWE candidacy eligibility application in February 2023, served as the springboard for an MSW Program within the School of Education and Human Development. With her proposed program structure as the foundation of new program development, she was invited as an independent contractor with St. Joe's to serve as the team lead, primary writer, and editor of initial draft accreditation process documents (Benchmark I). Through her foundational efforts and team leadership, the initial draft documents were completed and submitted within a two-month period. As a result, the first MSW Program at St. Joe's launched August 2023 in the pre-candidacy phase, with Dr. Hardy receiving multiple accolades from the team including "Thanks for all your work on this program, Veronica!," "Veronica - Thanks so much for all of your work and contributions. You are making my head spin (in a good way!)," "This is outstanding! THANK YOU!," and "Thanks so much for all of your work on this project!"

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Dr. Hardy received recognition for her commitment as vice chair and professional member of the board of directors for the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board. She was recognized by the United Way of Robeson County, where she had previously served as a board member and on the executive committee, with the Volunteer of the Year Award for Distinguished Service, Leadership, and Support to the County.  She was the recipient of the UNCP Outstanding Teaching Award and the UNCP Dial Award for Community Service. Dr. Hardy was nominated for the UNC James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Services and the UNC Board of Governors Teaching Award. 

 

Dr. Hardy served as the co-editor of the Intercultural Relations Special Issue and is currently a member of the policy board and board of copy editors for the International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, published by The International Federation of Social Workers. Dr. Hardy has worked on several grant-funded projects in addition to serving as the principal investigator for the Health Equity Project, which aims to give healthcare and educational professionals opportunities to learn about implicit bias, structural racism, and maternal health equity. She has also collaborated on projects such as, The Certificate in Culturally Informed Responses to Grief and Loss, with Dominican University.

 

Dr. Hardy has been invited to lead workshops on subjects like financial wellness, addressing racial disparities, and mental wellness in corporate settings such as McDonalds USA, LLC. She has also been welcomed for guest appearances on platforms including ABC11 Together Perspectives and PBS NC Black Issues Forum. ​Further, she is the inaugural editor of the Social Work Wealth Magazine designed to promote professional and client financial wellness.

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To promote fair access to education, she created The Dr. Veronica L. Hardy Legacy Scholarship, the first scholarship established for the Raleigh/Durham Chapter of the National Black MBA Association's Leaders of Tomorrow program. She is also a writer for The New Social Worker Magazine, consults for social work programs on accreditation issues, is a guest speaker for the Center for Financial Social Work, and is the author of numerous publications including Becoming Untangled: 8 Simple Strategies to Refresh Your Life, Mind, and Habits (2nd Edition) and Impact Your Income: Tips for Financial Wellness and Empowerment. 

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Select Publications

  • Woodside, S., Savage, T., Akers, W., Chae, K., Hardy, V., Jones, S., Locklear, C., Stargell, N., Peele, J., & Pryor, S. (2022). Partnerships to Address School Safety through a Student Support Lens. International Journal of School Social Work, 7(1). 

  • Woodside, S., & Hardy, V. (2020). Facilitating Racial Equity: Evaluating a Leadership Workshop Series for School Social Workers. International Journal of School Social Work, 5(1). 

  • Hardy, V., Locklear, A., & Crable, A. (2020). Commercial sexual exploitation of adolescents: Gender-Specific and trauma-informed care implications. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 17(1).  

  • Hardy, V., Compton, K., & McPhatter, V. (2013). Domestic minor sex trafficking: Practice implications for clinical professionals. AFFILIA: Social Work Journal for Women, 28(1).  

  • Byers, B., Underwood, L., & Hardy, V. (2010). Spirituality group with female offenders: Impacting hope. Journal of Correctional Healthcare, 16(2). 

 

Select Presentations

  • Hardy, V. (2023, February). Featured Speaker: Racial Trauma: A Critical Conversation about Grief, Loss, and Trauma. Presented at Middle State Georgia University, Macon, GA. 

  • Hardy, V. (2023, January). Child Sex Trafficking: Building an Awareness and Prevention Toolkit. Presented at the 21st Annual NC School Nurse Conference, Concord, NC.  

  • Hardy, V. (2022, May). Keynote Speaker: Grieving Freedom: The Legacy of Race-based Trauma. Presented at the 2022 NASW-NC Clinical Social Work Institute (Virtual). 

  • Hardy, V., and Woodside, S. (2022, April) Racial Equity Leadership for School Social Workers, 6-hour pre-conference workshop. 2022 School Social Work Association of America National Conference. Chicago, IL. 

  • Hardy, V. (2021, September). Keynote Speaker: The Effects of Race-Based Trauma: A Multicultural Competency Perspective. Presented at the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas (ACMHCK) 2021 Annual Conference for Behavioral Health, Manhattan, KS (Virtual). 

  • Hardy, V. (2018, July). Facilitating Racial Equity from a Social Work Perspective: Addressing Disproportionalities. Presented at the 2018 National Association of Social Workers Conference, Shaping Tomorrow Together, Washington D.C. 

 

Dr. Hardy has delivered several invited lectures at universities, convocation addresses, and presentations at conferences across the nation. 

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