Jerome Galea, PhD, LCSW, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, has joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the agency's mental health coordinator.
In this position, Galea works to promote the integration of mental health and psychosocial support practices throughout the agency, and leads engagement with global partners, partner governments, donors, philanthropy, and local organizations. Galea aims to strengthen local leadership of mental health efforts and reduce stigmatization of mental health conditions.
Galea is a licensed clinical social worker and global mental health implementation scientist. Based in Lima, Peru from 2001-2016, he directed the UCLA Program in Global Health Latin American office and later served as deputy director and health and policy advisor for the global health and social justice organization Partners In Health, Peru site, where he co-developed a community-based mental health program.
Galea has worked closely with the World Health Organization on Tuberculosis and mental health integration in Kenya, Pakistan, and Ghana; the International AIDS Society on HIV and mental health integration for adolescents with HIV in Peru; and directs the University of South Florida’s School of Social Work ACCESS Lab dedicated to increasing access to quality mental health services for all. He serves on the editorial board of the Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health journal and has published widely on mental health service scale-up and integration.