Dr. Alice Cepeda is currently an Associate Professor in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. She received her PhD in Sociology from the City University of New York Graduate Center. Her work has focused on the social epidemiology of drug use and the related health risk behaviors that disproportionately affect urban Mexican-origin minority populations, including violence, HIV/STI infection risks, and mental health conditions. Dr. Cepeda’s research has also highlighted the unique gendered experiences encountered by females within this cultural context. She recently completed a NIH/NIDA supported study examining the long-term health consequences of drug use and intimate partner violence on Mexican American females who were associated with male gang members as adolescents. Additionally, she is conducting an NIMHD R01 funded study to identify mechanisms by which immigration processes expose “floating populations” (those who move back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico either voluntarily or forced) to distinct environments, increases their susceptibility to risk behaviors and contributes to mental and physical health disparities. 

Nalini Negi is an associate professor at the School of Social Work (SSW) in the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). Dr. Negi’s research has emphasized the social etiology and structural mechanisms (including, racism, discrimination) that confer risk of psychological distress and substance use among Latino im/migrant men employed in the informal economy. She has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), among other funding mechanisms, and is one of the first to have elucidated structural and psychosocial factors associated to the mental health and drug use initiation and use of this hard-to-reach and “hidden” population of Latino im/migrants. Dr. Negi has published extensively in scientific journals as well as edited two books, one on social work practice with Latinos by Oxford University Press and one on social work practice with transnational migrants by Columbia University Press. In 2012, she received the National Award for Excellence in Research by a New Investigator from the National Hispanic Science Network. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Texas, Austin in 2008 and received the top honors for her dissertation by the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), the largest scientific organization representing social work in the United States. In 2017, she was inducted into the Fellows of the SSWR in recognition of serving with distinction to advance the mission of the Society -- to advance, disseminate, and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society. Dr. Negi is passionate about teaching and has been the recipient of multiple teaching awards including, the National Association of Social Workers Maryland Chapter (NASW-MD), Educator of the Year Award, Exemplary Faculty of the Year Award, and the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Negi was raised in seven countries, in five continents, and speaks five languages (including, Spanish and Hindi).

Liliane Cambraia Windsor, Ph.D., MSW is Associate Deanfor Research and Associate Professor of Social Work at The University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Windsor’s research focuses on the applicationof critical consciousness theory to the development of multi-levelinterventions designed to promote health equity in the fields of substance usedisorders treatment, infectious disease, and criminal legal system inmarginalized communities. Dr. Windsor follows community based participatoryresearch (CBPR) principles and the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST). Sheutilizes a variety of scientific methodologies including ethnography,randomized experimental controlled trials, measurement development,meta-analysis, and online survey. She is the founder and chair of the CriticalConsciousness Collaborative, a group of researchers, service providers, andconsumers who partner with marginalized communities to develop evidence-basedhealth interventions with real world impact. Dr. Windsor is currently theprincipal investigator of two large randomized controlled trials funded by theNational Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the NationalInstitute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to optimize the COVID-19 Preventionand Treatment Cascade.  Dr. Windsor is a2019-2020 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow with a placement in SenatorDick Durbin’s office. Born and raised in Brazil, Dr. Windsor received herBachelor of Science degree in Education from FCH-FUMEC, Brazil in 1998. Shemoved to Texas in 2000 to pursue her Master of Science and doctoral degrees inSocial Work from The University of Texas at Austin.