David Becerra, Ph.D., MSW

I started my career as a high school history teacher, but I quickly realized I could do more to help the students in my community by becoming a social worker.  I earned my MSW from Arizona State University West, but I always maintained a connection to the field of education.  I worked in a community-based organization that primarily served the Latino communities in Phoenix.  Working in the Latino community made me realize that there were not enough research based interventions that have been shown to be effective with Latinos so I decided to return to school to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Work at ASU.

The Ph.D. in Social Work at Arizona State University trained me to use my passion and dedication to become an effective researcher and professor while maintaining the value of service to the community. Social work research is meaningless if cannot be applied to better serve oppressed and vulnerable populations.  The support from professors in the School of Social Work and the training I received from the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center at Arizona State University has enabled me to merge theory and research with teaching and social work practice.  I thank them for their continued support throughout the program.

I completed my dissertation “Differences in perceptions of barriers in education among Latinos in the U.S.”  in August of 2008. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Colorado State University. I continue to do research in collaboration with families, schools, and community-based organizations in the Latino community on academic achievement, adolescent substance abuse and prevention, and issues related to acculturation. 

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Aimee Burke Valeras, Ph.D., MSW

After receiving my BA and MSW from Boston College and working as a school social worker with middle school students in Boston, I came to Phoenix to pursue my Ph.D. in Social Work at ASU. I completed my dissertation, “To be or not to be disabled: Understanding identity processes and self-disclosure decisions of persons with a hidden disability” using a narrative research methodology and graduated in May of 2007.

I am currently living in New Hampshire, working with the NH Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency Program as an Integrated Care Manager at the Concord Hospital Family Health Center. In this position, I serve in an educational and collaborative capacity with family practice residents and faculty, and work with people with complex illnesses and psychosocial and socioeconomic risk factors.

Working in this job exposes me to the harsh realities of the under- and uninsured; people whose medical issues are so often compounded by mental illness, trauma, and poverty. Every experience I encounter prompts possible research questions, ideas for quantitative and qualitative measurement and evaluation, and potential implications of results.

Through the experience of earning a doctorate in social work at ASU, I have the skill, curiosity, and passion to act on these ideas and participate in research that will have lasting results within the field of social work, and the practice of family medicine. My current research interests involve implementing and evaluating ‘patient-centered care,’ as well as evaluating teamwork and collaboration between medical providers, behavioral health providers, community resources, and the clients/patients themselves.

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Jason Castillo, Ph.D., MSW

I graduated from Arizona State University (ASU) with my doctorate in Social Work from the School of Social Work in May 2007.  During my graduate career at ASU, I was a recipient of the ASU McNair Fellowship, a member of Preparing Future Faculty, a research associate at the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) and Center for the Future of Arizona (CFFA), and a teaching assistant at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Through my affiliation with SIRC, I presented empirical research at several conferences and co-authored numerous manuscripts submitted for publication in several peer-reviewed journals.

In July, 2007, I joined the faculty at the University Of Utah College of Social Work as a tenure-track Assistant Professor.  My interest is in low-income children and families, with an emphasis on fathers.  My dissertation focused on the relationship between non-resident fathers' social networks and social capital and child support compliance. Continuing along this research agenda, my recent work has expanded to examining fathers' social networks and social capital and parental involvement in early childhood education. I plan to utilize these findings to inform policy and practice and advise advocates, policymakers, and practitioners working with fathers and their families.

I am indebted to the university and school. Not only was I introduced to a number of extraordinary faculty members and scholars, I was provided with a number of enormous opportunities that have prepared me to be successful in all of my future endeavors.

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Catherine Luz Marrs, Ph.D., LCSW

I worked with over 80 immigrant Mexican women in Phoenix over the last several years in my capacity as a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) before returning to academia to obtain my doctorate. My prior work experience was at a Head Start program and as a counselor for victims of domestic violence.  All my experience since graduating with my MSW has been with the immigrant Mexican community and I promised the women that I would share their stories at the level of research. It was my passion and dedication to this community that inspired me to return to academia and to write about their lived experience.
 
I completed my dissertation, "For me that was the most important thing – the family” The meaning of marriage and domestic violence among immigrant Mexican women” using qualitative methodology and graduated in December 2007. 

The PhD program trained me well to be a researcher, administrator, and professor. Throughout the whole program I was challenged with what direction I would pursue. My heart is with the community-directly working with people and therefore I decided to stay in Phoenix and work in the community. I currently hold an administrative position with a non-profit organization that provides counseling services to victims of trauma (trauma specifically associated with domestic violence and sexual assault) where I assist in the day-to-day operations of the outpatient clinic.

To keep my foot in the door of the university, I also teach a domestic violence class for the MSW program.  In addition, I volunteer for the Catholic Church in my capacity as a trainer in response to my findings, which indicated the Catholic Church is a first responder with victims (the immigrant Mexican woman) of domestic violence. As a volunteer, I offer domestic violence trainings in Spanish to a Catholic Parish in the East valley for couples preparing to marry. I have also conducted a workshop for Marriage Preparatory Coordinators of different Hispanic Parishes.

I am currently working on a paper to publish the findings of my study and to explain the prevention model of domestic violence that I developed.  I am very committed to the Catholic Church with assisting the institution to understand the dynamic of domestic violence among the immigrant Mexican community that reside in Phoenix and across the Valley of Sun.
 
Thank-you to all my professors’ and mentors for providing me with amazing training and for supporting me every step of the way. I could have not completed the program without all your help.

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Soma Sen, Ph.D., MSW

I graduated from the School of Social Work, Arizona State University in the Fall of 2007. My dissertation topic explored whether or not social capital acts as a buffer against HIV risk among migrant men in Sub-Saharan Africa.  I am currently teaching Human Behavior and Social Environment courses in the MSW program at the School of Social Work, San Jose State University. I started teaching in the Fall of 2007. My research interest lies at the cross-section of health and poverty. I am particularly interested in looking at health issues among immigrants. I have a few projects that I am working on currently. I have funding from Santa Clara County Department of Health to evaluate their HIV Prevention and Education Programs. I am also exploring the connection between health and social networks among Asian-Indian older adults. I am currently involved in writing a grant with colleagues from Justice Studies and Sociology to fund a project that aims to understand how integration into ethnic communities within the U.S. affects an individual migrant's access to health care services and ultimately his or her health/mental health. We are particularly interested in looking at Mexican migrants in the Bay Area.

Getting the Ph.D. was a life transforming experience for me. The process made me realize the crucial role of social networks and social capital in my life. It also made me realize the issues of power and oppression that are embedded in academia. I have always had a tendency to see the world through a critical theoretical lens, but my experiences have led me to base my world-view more solidly on Social Capital Theory and the Conflict Theory. Both theories provide the theoretical foundation for my research. My classes at ASU, the research projects at SIRC, my teaching experience at the school, and the support of my professors, particularly, my chair and mentor, have truly equipped me with skills necessary to not only survive academia, but in fact enjoy it!