Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education, University of Illinois at Chicago.
MSW from University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Stacy Gherardi, LCSW, is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at New Mexico State University, currently serving as Interim Co-Director. She earned her BSW from Valparaiso University in 2005, MSW from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2008, and PhD in Education Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2016. Before coming to NMSU, Dr. Gherardi worked as a teacher and a school social worker and teacher in the Chicago area. Her research focuses on the intersections of education and social policy and school responses to the “non-academic” needs of students. This has included work that explores school social worker roles, community schools, interprofessional collaboration in schools, and, more recently, the development, implementation, and equity-centered trauma-informed schools. Dr. Gherardi has taught across the curriculum in the MSW program including policy courses, generalist practice courses, advanced practice with families, advanced practice with groups, human behavior and the social environment, research, and school social work practice.
Dr. Gherardi works regularly with schools across the state, consulting around the design and implementation of community schools, trauma-informed approaches, and school social work services. Some of her more recent publications include:
Gherardi, S.A., & Greenberg, D. (2023). From intent to impact: Building university-assisted community schools in New Mexico. Children and Schools. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdad022
Gherardi, S.A., Knox, K., & Stoner, A.L, Garling-Spychala, B. (2022). Perceptions and practices in interprofessional collaboration between school social workers and teachers. International Journal of School Social Work, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/2161-4148.1085
Gherardi, S. (2022). Improving trauma-informed education: Responding to student adversity with equity-centered, systemic support. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/trauma
Mallonee, J.R., Gergerich, E., Gherardi, S.A. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on social work mental health services in the United States: Lessons from the early days of a global pandemic. Social Work in Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2022.2028272
Gherardi, S.A., Garcia, M., Stoner, A.L. (2021). Just trauma-informed schools: Theoretical gaps, practice considerations and new directions. The International Journal of School Social Work, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/2161-4148.1070
Gherardi, S.A., Mallonee, J.R., Gergerich, E. (2021). We move on and we get it done: Educating social workers through a pandemic. Journal of Social Work Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.1939824
Chafouleas, S., Pickens, I, & Gherardi, S.A. (2021) Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Translation into action in K12 education settings. School Mental Health, 13, 213-224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09427-9
Gherardi, S.A. COVID-19 and the limits of educationalizing social problems (2021). Children and Schools, 43(2), 123- 126.https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdab003
