Seth Kurzban, an assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, has been appointed to the Gabe W. Miller Memorial Foundation advisory committee.

The foundation, inspired by its namesake who died in 2005 while an MSW student at the University of Denver, collects and distributes funds to individuals who can deliver, as Gabe did, service to those who need it most – physically and mentally disabled adults and children, rehabilitated former prisoners reintegrating into society, and children in need of support and role models.

In his advisory role, Kurzban will help identify and recommend meritorious individuals, projects and institutions worthy of the foundation's support.

Kurzban joined the school in 2009 as a post-doctoral fellow upon receiving a Larson endowment to adapt a group intervention at a Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinic for women who are re-integrating into the community upon their release from jail. His current work focuses on developing and testing the intervention Community Awareness Psycho-education (CAPE), which is designed to help individuals improve their self-care and wellness, reduce the social isolation associated with mental illness and improve their ability to live in their communities.

Prior to his arrival at USC, Kurzban worked in a variety of clinical and research settings focused on helping individuals dealing with severe and persistent mental illness, chronic homelessness or incarceration and substance abuse, including Westat and the National Institute of Mental Health as the evaluation coordinator for the Hartford Geriatric Faculty Scholars Program.

He received his PhD from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2008, the same year he was named the Willie G. Perry Scholar for Outstanding Potential and the Evelyn Burns Scholar for Public Policy.