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Antonio Lopez Pelaez

Antonio López Peláez is Professor of Social Work and Social Services at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), Madrid, Spain. Since 2020, he serves as executive director of the International Council on Social Welfare (www.icsw.org). His lines of research focus on digital social work, participation, group dynamics and social innovation. Co-editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Digital Social Work (2023) and the Routledge International Handbook of IA and Social Work (2026), he is director of the Chair in Social Innovation, Participation and Social Services (UNED – Ayuntamiento de Fuenlabrada – Asociación Estatal de Directoras y Gerentes de Servicios Sociales de España -AEDYGSS-), the first of its kind launched in the Spanish university system. In May 2025 he gave the Friedlander Lecture at Berkeley Social Welfare, UC Berkeley.  He is a founding trustee of the Abracadabra Magos Solidarios Foundation, which organizes magical activities in children’s hospitals in Spain.

𝐒𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧

Siobhan has been a social worker for 35 years and became a practice educator in 1995. Siobhan has worked independently for a number of years. As an independent her work is varied but includes training, devising practice learning resources and consultancy work. Siobhan still very much enjoys working as a practice educator and currently works with a few students a year in an off site capacity.

In 2004 Siobhan was appointed to the position of Secretary of the International Federation of Social Workers, holding this position for eight years. She still maintains close international links and enjoys working to support practice educators in countries where social work education is in the early stages of development.

Siobhan has written widely, mostly around social work theory and critical reflection. She is committed to making the knowledge base accessible to busy practitioners and set up Kirwin Maclean Associates as an independent publishing organisation based on the values and ethics of social work.

Siobhan recently moved to Northern Ireland where she has enjoyed taking on the practice teacher role. Moving contexts and getting used to a different set of standards and paperwork has reminded Siobhan just what it feels like to be new to a role.

Siobhan is a fellow of the RSA.