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Alexandria Forte

Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate Research Assistant

Alexandria Forte

Contact

Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building

400-A

325 Pittsboro Street

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

alexf@email.unc.edu

O: 720-290-2342

View CV

Alexandria Forte, MSW, is a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the impact of food insecurity on the health and well-being of marginalized groups including BIPOC families, and youth. Alexandria has worked as a graduate research assistant with Drs. Lisa Zerden and Brianna Lombardi on healthcare workforce research efforts demonstrating the importance of social work in healthcare and on the health outcomes of patients. Alexandria has had extensive experience on teams using qualitative and quantitative methods.

After completing her MSW, Alexandria developed a community-based program for minoritized youth interested in joining the health care workforce. While case-managing students and their families, their own health disparities were striking, specifically, the access to healthy food. This work has fueled her research interest in understanding the experience of food insecurity and its impacts on the overall physical and mental health of minoritized youth.

Degrees and Licenses

BA, Villanova University
MSW, University of Denver

Primary Program

Doctoral Education

Research and Professional Interests

Food Insecurity
Mental Health
BIPOC Communities
Youth
Nutrition Policy

Recent Publications

Villodas, M.L., Forte, A.B. & Blank Wilson, A. (2023). Examining the influence of the neighborhood environment on stress among Black American adolescents: A scoping review. Youth and Society

Legette, K., Iruka, I., Halberstadt, A., & Forte, A. B. (2023) Recognizing systemic and individual racial bias in teachers as a first step towards anti-racist schools. Teaching and Teacher Education

Masa R., Shangani, S., Baca-Atlas, S., Forte, A. B., & Operario, D. (2022). Exchanging sex for food: Exploring factors affecting young transgender adults’ involvement in sexual exploitation due to food insecurity. International Journal of Transgender Health

Masa, R., Forte, A.B., & Villodas, M. (2022). Direct and indirect associations of weight status, self-efficacy, and gender attitudes with cognitive and academic skills among adolescent girls in Zambia. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 1-13.

Dawes, H., Klein, L., Hirst, L., Forte, A.B., Gibbs, D., & Hall, W. (2022). Experiences of Queer people of color in mental health services and substance abuse services: A systematic review. Journal of Society of Social Work and Research

de Saxe Zerden, L., Richman, E. L., Lombardi, B. M., & Forte, A. B. (2022) Frontline, essential, and invisible: The needs of low-wage workers in hospital settings during COVID-19. Workplace Health & Safety. DOI: 10.1177/21650799221108490

Presentations, Workshops and Media

Villodas, M.L., Forte, A.B., & Dawes, H.C. Unequal Beginnings: Responding to the Needs of Underrepresented Doctoral Students. Paper presented at the 2022 Annual Program Meeting for the Council on Social Work Education, Anaheim, CA. November 10–13, 2022.

Forte, A.B., Perez Portillo, A., Masa, R., & Zerden, L. Hunger and Health: A Scoping Review Exploring Health Outcomes Associated with Food Insecurity for Youth (0-19 years). Poster presented at: Society for Social Work Research. 2022 January 14-17; Washington, D.C.

Masa, R., *Forte, A.B., & Villodas, M. Direct and indirect effects of underweight, self-efficacy, and gender norms with cognitive and academic skills in adolescent girls. Poster presented at: Society for Social Work Research. 2022 January 14-17; Washington, D.C.

de Saxe Zerden, L., Lombardi, B. M., Richman, E. L., & Forte, A. B. . Addressing Burnout among the Frontline Healthcare Workforce during COVID-19: A Scoping Review & Expert Interviews. Oral paper presented at: Society for Social Work Research. 2022 January 14-17; Washington, D.C.

Masa, R., Forte, A.B., & Villodas, M. Direct and indirect effects of underweight, self-efficacy, and gender norms with cognitive and academic skills in adolescent girls. Paper presented at the 22nd Biennial Conference of the International Consortium for Social Development (virtual), 2021, July 13–16.

Masa R., Shangani, S., *Baca-Atlas, S., Forte, A.B., & Operario, D. Exchanging sex for food: Exploring factors affecting young transgender adults' involvement in sexual exploitation due to food insecurity. Poster presented at the 2021 National LGBTQ Health Conference (virtual), May 20–21, 2021 .

Courses

SOWO 510

Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice and Program Evaluation

Spring 2023

SOWO 712

Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice and Program Evaluation

Summer 2022