Howard University
601 Howard Place, NW
Washington, DC
DCUSA
20059
Biographical Sketch: Dr. Elizabeth M. Bertera is a tenured Associate Professor of Social Work and member of the Graduate faculty of Howard University in Washington, D.C. She teaches in the Direct Practice sequence and in the Social Gerontology Field of Practice. She obtained her PhD at the Bryn Mawr College School of Social Work and Social Research in Bryn Mawr, PA.
In addition to her experience in academia, Dr. Bertera has approximately 20 years experience as a practicing social worker in her native Puerto Rico, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Turkey and Delaware. She was chosen among 70 social workers to receive the Social Worker of the Year Award from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2001 the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association named Dr. Bertera finalist for the prestigious Betty Jane Cleckley Minority Issues Award for her research in minority older populations. Most recently 2009, Dr. Bertera was awarded the AG-SW Leadership Award –Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work, at the Gerontological Society of America Annual meeting.
She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers at both national and Maryland chapter as well as a member of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), American Society on Aging (ASA),National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) Council on Social Work Education (CSWE),the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Gerontological Health section. Her scholarship focuses on research, writing and presentations in the areas of US and international social gerontology, aging and technology, health promotion, health education, minority health, mental health and social support. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator on a 2-year grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).