Alberto Cifuentes, Jr., MSW
For nearly two decades, Alberto Cifuentes, Jr., LMSW, has been a community organizer and social justice advocate for underrepresented and marginalized populations, including LGBTQ+ individuals, undocumented immigrants, and returning citizens. He has been an active leader of several non-profit organizations, particularly the National Association of Social Workers Connecticut Chapter (NASW/CT) and GLSEN Connecticut. He served as Board of Directors Co-chair, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Student Organizing Team Adult Coordinator for GLSEN Connecticut. He also served as the Co-chair of the NASW/CT Latino/a Social Workers Network and Chair/Founder of the NASW/CT Macro Social Workers Network. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of ACOSA and is a member of the steering committee of the Macro Social Work Student Network (MSWSN). He recently received a Distinguished Service Award from Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities (CLARO).
Alberto has published articles on the impact of Latinx cultural values on the parenting styles of Latino fathers. In addition, he has published on the role of fatherhood identity and machismo in the lives of alcoholic Latino fathers. Alberto’s primary research focuses on developing inclusive and equitable policies and practices for consensual sex workers, those that willingly participate in the sex trade. His dissertation explores the effects of stigma and criminalization on the health outcomes of consensual male sex workers using a sex-positive, harm reduction approach. More specifically, his dissertation examines the impact of stigma on the substance use outcomes of online male sex workers and analyzes the stigma negotiation and resistance process for this population. His ultimate goal is to direct an organization that will increase access to vital services and programs for consensual sex workers.
Alberto has taught courses in social work for over four years, including Macro Practice Foundation, Analysis of Social Welfare, Human Oppression, Research Methods, and Essential Theory and Intervention Practice in Community Organizing. Alberto is an alumnus of the Health Policy Research Scholar (HPRS) program, a highly competitive Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellowship and grant supporting doctoral students whose research and leadership advances policy towards a Culture of Health. He is also the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants, including the HPRS Dissertation Fellowship and the UConn School of Social Work’s Rollin Williams/Y. C. Wu Fellowship and Sterling Dissertation Writing Fellowship.
MSW
University of Connecticut
Research Interests:
Stigma as a Social Determinant of Health
HIV/STI Prevention via Sex-Positive, Harm Reduction Approaches
Criminalization of Sex Work(ers)
Mixed Methods/Community-based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR)
Macro Social Work Theory, Practice, and Education
