Assistant Professor Jeremy Goldbach has been elected a member-at-large to the Board of Directors of the Society for Social Work and Research, a professional society devoted to the involvement of social workers, social work faculty and social work students in research, and to the promotion of human welfare through research and research applications.

In his new role, Goldbach hopes to foster multidisciplinary research to expand the influence of social work across fields of science. He also aims to focus and galvanize the profession on defining the science of social work around a common set of research principles that will further advance the profession’s reach. Goldbach would like to work toward advancing opportunities for mentoring and junior scholarship development to ensure the next generation of researchers is prepared to take on emerging and dynamic social issues.

Goldbach believes now is a critical moment for social work to take a strong leadership role.

"I’m so pleased that I will have the opportunity to represent USC on the SSWR Board leadership," he said. "This will be an opportunity to take our innovative approach to social work research to the national stage."

He is currently funded through the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Institute at USC to pilot a cultural stress intervention for Latino youth and families called Familia Adelante. This multi-risk reduction intervention focuses on decreasing behavioral health problems, including substance use, HIV risk behavior and conduct disorder through the reduction of cultural stressors such as discrimination and negative acculturative experiences. He has also received funding from the Zumberge Foundation to explore unique stress and health outcomes in a qualitative sample of racially and ethnically diverse lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescents.