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ABA Doctoral Student Arturo Garcia Receives Josie Torralba Romero (JTR) Scholarship

ABA doctoral student Arturo Garcia has received a scholarship through the National Latino Behavioral Health Association's (NLBHA) 2021-2022 Josie Torralba Romero Scholarship Program.

The JTR Scholarship Fund seeks to honor its namesake, who was the first President and one of the founders of the NLBHA; an organization dedicated to bringing attention to the great disparities that exist in Latino behavioral health access and utilization of services,  research and behavioral health workforce development. 

Growing up, Arturo's family would often move back and forth between Chicago, Ill., where he was born, and a small pueblo in Morelos, Mexico. As a result of frequent relocations, he gained a greater understanding of socio-economic disparities, lack of mental health services, and stigma behind advocating for services.

"I believe the only way to break that stigma is by infiltrating and providing behavioral health to Latinos," said Arturo.

Arturo's research interests are in the areas of parent/caregiver training, child welfare interventions, human trafficking, juvenile justice, and placement disruption. Over the years, as a Guardian Ad Litem for the state of Florida and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, he has advocated for the rights of children (all varying in age, gender, developmental disabilities, living arrangements, ethnic background, cultural and religious beliefs). 

"Most of my professional experience lies within the “at-risk” population, such as children in foster care, runaway youth, and juvenile delinquents," said Garcia. "This population is often underrepresented, overlooked, or ignored in the field of behavior analysis. As such, some of my objectives after graduate school are to collaborate on research projects, clinical work, and publishing in academic journals effective and efficient evidence-based interventions for this at-risk population."