Alberto Cifuentes, Jr., MSW
For over a decade, 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, such as the National Association of Social Workers Connecticut Chapter (NASW/CT) and GLSEN Connecticut.
Alberto is a Health Policy Research Scholar (HPRS), a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellowship supporting doctoral students whose research and leadership advances policy towards a Culture of Health. Alberto’s research focuses on developing inclusive and equitable policies and practices for consensual sex workers, those that willingly participate in the sex trade. His dissertation will explore the effects of stigma and criminalization on the health outcomes of consensual sex workers using a sex-positive, harm reduction approach. His ultimate goal is to direct an organization that will increase access to vital services and programs for consensual sex workers.
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
