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Pioneering Contributions
James (Jim) Wayne, LCSW, BCD was the first social worker with an MSW elected to the Kentucky state legislature. He began his journey into policy and politics as a legislative assistant to a U.S. Congressman from 1974 to 1976, where he spearheaded the passage of the first National Climate Program Act which coordinated all climate research. He is now an established and respected leader in all aspects of social work in the state, from politics to psychotherapy.
From 1991-2019, as Kentucky State Representative, Wayne served the people of Louisville’s district 35. He represented the social work voice in committee hearings and on the House floor. During his renowned tenure of almost three decades, Rep. Wayne held important positions, including chairing the state Poverty Commission and the House Committee on Poverty.
Rep. Wayne was highly regarded as a gentleman and respected state leader by both political parties as "the conscience of the General Assembly." Wayne focused on issues ranging from state tax reform to protecting our vulnerable Kentucky children and youth from sex abuse. He championed the Affordable Housing Trust Fund which led to over 11,000 homes in the state being built for low-income residents. He sponsored, and/or passed legislation for campus safety, education, public health, LGBTQ+ rights, gun safety, and protection of workers. He was the only licensed mental health professional in the Kentucky State House of Representatives during his tenure. Also, he holds the record for the longest career in the General Assembly for a licensed social worker.
Based on his on-going support of mental health services and practice, Wayne was the founder of the Wayne Corporation, and founder of the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago School for Social Work. The corporation administers Employee Assistance programs for over 80,000 employees and across the state. Following his retirement from the legislature, Wayne was instrumental in creating a scholarship program for practitioners at the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy for therapists working with vulnerable populations.
Career Highlights
After completing his MSW at Smith in 1978, he directed a mental health center in rural Indiana, followed by a job as a therapist at Bingham Child Guidance Clinic in Louisville. He also worked as a member of the University of Louisville psychiatric consultation team practicing in Norton, University of Louisville Children’s, and Jewish hospitals. During this time, he taught residents at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, departments of psychiatry and pediatrics.
In 1981, Wayne founded The Wayne Corporation and has served over four decades as its president. The Wayne Corporation administers Employee Assistance programs across the region, serving employees and their families in over 75 organizations, including in businesses, hospitals, unions, and schools. He and his staff, including other clinical social workers, provide on-site counseling and critical incidence debriefings for traumatic and emergency situations, substance abuse professional/DOT compliance, as well as consultations to managers, union officials, and supervisors. He is committed to providing excellence in mental health training to further enhance the clinical practice of all mental health providers.
Thus, in 2016, Wayne founded the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Bellarmine University in Louisville. In 2021, he moved the one-year residency certificate in advanced psychotherapy program to Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work with the agreement that one psychotherapist from Kentucky or Southern Indiana who works with vulnerable populations would be given a full scholarship each year. This intensive program, designed for full-time practitioners, incorporates multiple theoretical disciplines, case conceptualization, and the most current treatment, listening, and intervention techniques. The highly regarded institute draws students from across the nation as well as Canada and South Africa.
Wayne hosted events through the years for interested members and non-members to highlight the work of the Advanced Psychotherapy program. These presentations addressed the changing landscape of mental health practice, especially during the global pandemic and as we faced new “reactive anxieties” post pandemic. His extensive experience as a licensed clinical social worker combined with his legislative work framed these discussions with students and professionals by encouraging thoughtful dialogue with colleagues and cohorts about the interplay between micro-mezzo-macro practice. He maintains his psychotherapy practice for long-term cases and also does pro bono work for poor individuals and families.
Wayne also devoted his time to board positions for Community Catholic Center in the poorest section of Louisville, which he co-founded, and the Louisville Coalition for the Homeless. His memberships in community and national groups range from the Jefferson County Advisory Council for Women to the Sierra Club, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Passionist Peace and Justice and Integrity of Creation. He was instrumental in securing safety measures for the Louisville airport and relocating over 10,000 residents impacted by the expansion of the airport to accommodate expanded UPS operations. His social work skills and expertise were critical in addressing organizational cultures and problem solving across communities impacted by racial injustice, poverty, and urban/suburban sprawl.
Biographic Data
Jim Wayne earned his BA in 1970 from Maryknoll College, and his MA from the Maryknoll School of Theology in 1972. In 1978, Wayne completed his MSW at the School for Social Work at Smith College. He earned his MFA in fiction writing from Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky where, in 2018, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Public Service. His family has been in Kentucky since 1805. He is married to Deborah Scherer Wayne and has two stepchildren and four grandchildren.
Significant Achievements and Awards
Colleagues are ‘Kentucky Proud’ of Jim Wayne for his remarkable leadership with both the Kentucky Chapter of NASW, and the Kentucky Society for Clinical Social Work, where he served as president. ?In 2018, he was awarded the Kentucky Social Work Lobby Day Social Worker of the Year award, the first in the history of Social Work Lobby Day. The Kentucky Society for Clinical Social Work honored him with its Arvil Reeb Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
Significant Publications
In 1994, Wayne presented “Kindling a Light: Social Work through Politics” at the Kentucky Psychological Convention, which was printed by Smith College in 1995. In his speech, Wayne spoke of the responsibility of mental health professionals to power forward through the difficult discussions and resistance related to policy and politics. Who better, he “challenged”, than us who “deal with life in the raw every day in your offices” with clients, to put our skills, resources, interventions, ethics, and theories to practice in the political arena. In November 2021, Wayne donated his legislative papers, speeches, opinion essays, news articles, and other archives to his alma mater, Spalding University, to make public his extensive historical reference for research. Topics critically important to social workers range from lawmaking and policy, community organization, and politics are included. He left a remarkable legacy for Kentucky social workers through his expansive work from committee and floor speeches to video copies of his media presentations. In 2016 he published his debut novel, The Unfinished Man, and enjoyed public readings and discussions about writing this award-winning novel.
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