Lorraine Howard

Lorraine Y. Howard, PhD, LCSW, LCADC earned her doctorate in Social Work from Rutgers University School of Social Work in May 2025, where she also completed her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Work degrees. She brings almost 30 years of extensive administrative and clinical experience in social work and addictions across diverse settings, including community corrections, hospitals, and both inpatient and outpatient substance use programs.

Her career has been shaped by a deep interest in the intersection of practice and research, particularly in understanding how trauma impacts adolescent and young adult well-being, substance use, and how culturally responsive social work practices can improve outcomes for minoritized youth.

Dr. Howard’s dissertation centered on the development and validation of a clinician-centered measure of cultural humility, advancing research on therapeutic relationships, cultural responsiveness, and treatment outcomes. Her ongoing research includes examining the validity of the scale across diverse populations and contexts, as well as studying racism-based traumatic stress symptoms among youth. She has collaborated across disciplines, including her work with the Mental Health Equity Lab at The New School in New York City (now New York University), and serves as a Faculty Affiliate with the Center for Prevention Science at Rutgers University.

In addition to research, Dr. Howard has more than a decade of teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels, instructing in foundational social work, clinical practice, and addictions through traditional, hybrid, intensive weekend, and online (synchronous and asynchronous) formats.