Alexandria Forté, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Alexandria Forté is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include food access and availability disparities, racially and ethnically minoritized groups health and well-being, measurement analysis and development. Her current research focuses on developing a youth-report food insecurity measure.

Inspired by her years of experience as a medical social worker, Dr. Forté’s research investigates how food insecurity impacts the health and well-being of minoritized children and families. She explores both the complex intersections between food access, nutrition, and social equity, as well as how these experiences are measured.

Dr. Forté uses her training and experience to address the distinct challenges faced by those living in food-insecure households. She utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods with a unique expertise in measurement analyses. Her analytic approaches are used to refine and enhance existing tools for assessing food insecurity through input and collaboration with groups disproportionately impacted. In addition, her research seeks to adapt these tools to better capture the experiences of racially and ethnically diverse communities.

Dr. Forté’s research is informed by critical race theory, underscoring the belief that systemic inequities often shape access to food and highlighting the ways structural racism and social determinants of health influence food distribution and availability.

At the School of Social Work, Dr. Forté teaches courses in the Community Organizing concentration.

Her scholarship is published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, International Journal of Eating Disorders, Social Work in Public Health, Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, and others.

Dr. Forté joined the School of Social Work in 2024. She earned her Ph.D. in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a MSW with a concentration in health and wellness from the University of Denver; and a BA in psychology from Villanova University.

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