Lizz Wilson, MSW, is a child welfare professional with nearly ten years of progressive experience in North Carolina public child welfare, including frontline investigations and supervisory leadership. Throughout her career, Lizz has partnered with social workers, supervisors, agency leadership, and local nonprofit organizations to strengthen practice, improve decision-making, and enhance outcomes for children and families. She recognizes the vital role community partners play in supporting families and has extensive experience collaborating across systems to connect agencies with resources that improve service delivery, family engagement, and long-term outcomes. Her experience includes child protective services investigations, forensic assessments, family engagement, court preparation and testimony, policy implementation, and operational leadership.
Lizz is passionate about developing the child welfare workforce and equipping professionals with the skills and confidence needed to navigate complex cases. She has extensive experience training and mentoring newly hired social workers, coaching emerging supervisors, conducting quality file reviews, facilitating case staffings, and translating policy into practical, day-to-day practice. She is particularly skilled in helping professionals navigate high-conflict situations through relationship-based engagement, effective communication, and de-escalation strategies that promote safety while preserving dignity and trust. Drawing from years of field and leadership experience, Lizz coaches staff to remain calm under pressure, engage resistant families with empathy and professionalism, and make sound decisions in emotionally charged situations.
Known for her collaborative leadership style, strategic thinking, and commitment to continuous improvement, Lizz has successfully led teams through workload management, backlog reduction, documentation quality improvement, and practice enhancement initiatives while maintaining a steadfast focus on child safety, permanency, and family well-being. She believes that investing in people is the foundation of strong child welfare practice and enjoys partnering with agencies to strengthen leadership, build workforce capacity, foster meaningful cross-sector collaboration, and support sustainable improvements that lead to better outcomes for children and families.
Lizz earned both her Bachelor of Social Work with a Minor in Nonprofit Studies and her Master of Social Work from North Carolina State University.
