Dr Stracener has 40 years' experience as a Professional Social Worker and Doctor of Public Health. His practice has included work as a mental health therapist, emergency room crisis assessor, in home adoption assessor, regional director of a 15-county regional mental health practice, program coordinator for a residential brain injury treatment center and work with the Federal Veterans Affairs Healthcare System as a Nursing Home Surveyor, Medical Center Program Coordinator, Senior Program Director and Interim National Program Director for a federal VA Program in 122 Medical Centers. Dr. Stracener has been lead author of several grant funding and policy initiatives at the local, state and federal level, including recently policies implemented in VA medical centers regarding ethical treatment protocols of intubated Veterans during the covid-19 pandemic. His focus of teaching at NMSU is social work policy practice.
