Lily Ross has been an instructor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work since 2011, where she teaches both on-campus and in the Virtual Academic Center. She has taught a broad range of courses focusing on children, youth and families. She has also served as an external practicum instructor for various programs throughout Los Angeles. As a licensed clinical social worker, she has used an interdisciplinary, trauma-informed approach in her direct practice, supervision and program management.

Ross has worked in schools, community-based programs, nonprofit organizations and Department of Mental Health contract agencies. She has been trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and has instructed on several evidence-based practices, including, but not limited to, Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP), Functional Family Therapy (FFT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT). Additionally, Professor Ross has provided clinical supervision, program coordination and direction, and consultation.

Her doctoral studies focused on the way increased social support and belonging can impact motivation for youth in schools. Using a family stress model, her dissertation deepened understanding about connections between parents’ stress, supports and perceptions of children’s behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.