AOSW Connections

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief
Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW

Editor
Katherine Easton, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C

AOSW Communications Director
Brittany Hahn, LCSW

Managing Editor
Patricia Sullivan

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To submit a story or information for inclusion in a future issue of AOSW Newsletter, contact Amy Colver or Katherine Easton on the list above.


2025 Themes

February: Workplace & Culture
May: Therapeutic Techniques

August: Palliative Care

November: Caregivers 

AOSW SIGs and How You Can Be Involved

May 16, 2023
SIG Updates

By Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C, and Chelsea Kroll, MSW, LMSW, OSW-C 

The Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) offers Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to its members. Yet some members might not know what a SIG entails and so might not join. This can mean a lost opportunity to network, learn and have fun! I am new to SIGs and have already found great value in being with other oncology social workers interested in patient navigation. 

SIG membership is a great way to meet other members of AOSW especially those who work in similar settings or have interests in the same areas of oncology social work that you do. In addition, SIGs host meetings that can be a source of education, inspiration, connectedness and even support. This year, many AOSW SIGs are hosting virtual meetings on a regular basis. These weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual meetings mean those who attend will get to know each other well and this then opens the opportunity to learn from one another and make new colleagues and friends.  

In addition, anyone who attends the AOSW annual conference this June in New Orleans can drop into an in-person SIG meeting. The SIG meetings are being held on Tuesday, June 20, and Wednesday, June 21. You can check out the complete schedule of SIG meetings found in the annual conference section of our website.  In case you are not able to attend a SIG meeting and still want to connect with a SIG leader while you’re at the conference, the Whova conference app will allow you to directly connect with a SIG leader via messaging.


There are so many amazing topics covered at our Annual Conference this year and many are relevant to the SIG topic areas. The conference organizers have worked very hard to follow each SIG meeting with a topic-related session. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the subject matter and get the most from learning at the Conference. For example, if you’re interested in Research, you’ll be able to locate sessions on the schedule that have the RES tag. For those interested in Blood/Bone Marrow, sessions will be tagged BMT, etc. 
 
You can find SIG leaders everywhere during the Annual Conference – we’ll be wearing name badges with ribbons to indicate that we are SIG leaders. Come up to us and ask us more about how to visit or become a member! You can also stop by the SIG table in the exhibit hall to learn more, ask questions and/or sign up!  
 
On behalf of the SIG leaders, please consider attending a SIG meeting while at the conference -we look forward to meeting you in New Orleans!    

About the Authors

Chelsea Kroll, MSW, LMSW, OSW-C
Oncology Social Worker
Spencer Cancer Center, East Alabama Health
Opelika, Alabama
chelsea.kroll@eamc.org
Chelsea Kroll, LMSW, OSW-C has been a member of AOSW for 22.5 years, serving in various roles, and currently is serving as the Director at Large for the Special Interest Groups. 
Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C
Strategic Director, ACS National Navigation Roundtable (NNRT)
American Cancer Society
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Karen.Costello@cancer.org
Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C, received her master’s degree in social work and social services from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 1996. Karen is a licensed social worker in the state of Pennsylvania and has the ...
Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C
Strategic Director, ACS National Navigation Roundtable (NNRT)
American Cancer Society
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Karen.Costello@cancer.org

Karen Costello, MSS, LSW, OSW-C, received her master’s degree in social work and social services from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 1996. Karen is a licensed social worker in the state of Pennsylvania and has the Oncology Social Work certification from the Board of Oncology Social Work (BOSW).  Karen is also American Cancer Society, Leadership in Oncology Navigation (ACS LION) credentialed since 2024.

She has 30 years of oncology experience as a clinic coordinator, social worker, navigator and administrator in academic cancer centers and hospitals and non-profit patient advocacy organizations.

Karen began her social work career with the blood and marrow transplantation team at Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. After that, Karen joined The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society first as a patient services manager and then as an executive director. In 2009, back at the Abramson Cancer Center of Penn she became a cancer center administrator with a variety of Penns Cancer Network hospitals in the surrounding community. Then with Penn Radiation Oncology, Karen became the practice administrator for several busy clinical practices. In 2019, Karen returned to the cancer advocacy space to become a lead navigator at Cancer Support Community’s headquarters. There she built the existing patient navigation program available to patients and caregivers located on the organizations’ Helpline. In February 2025, Karen became the Strategic Director for the American Cancer Society’s National Navigation Roundtable where she works alongside 200+ oncology navigation professionals shaping policy, practice and development for the field.