Rate My Professor Jodi Berger

Jodi Berger Cardoso, PhD, LCSW, is Professor in the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, holding the Kantambu Latting Endowed Professorship for Leadership and Change. She earned her PhD in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin in 2012, Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2004, and Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in 1999. A licensed clinical social worker in Texas since 2007, she brings over 20 years of clinical and research experience working with children, youth, and families. Prior to her academic career, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1999 to 2002. Cardoso joined the University of Houston in 2012 as Assistant Professor, advancing to Associate Professor in 2018. She holds additional research appointments at the HEALTH Research Institute and the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare.

Cardoso's research examines the impact of stress and trauma on the mental health of children and caregivers, with a focus on psychological stressors before, during, and after migration affecting Latin American immigrants and refugees. She is a leading scholar on migration-related family separation and its effects on children's mental health, identifying these as chronic relational traumas influencing attachment, behavior, and emotional development. Her work has shaped understanding of deportation risks and immigration enforcement as threats to child well-being. She has secured funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, and Hogg Foundation for projects on unaccompanied minors, Latinx youth mental health, and disaster-affected children. Key publications include 'Threat and Deprivation as Distinct Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress and Depression Symptoms in First and Second Generation Latinx Youth' (2023, Applied Developmental Science), 'Discrimination and PTSD among Latinx Immigrant Youth: The Moderating Effects of Gender' (2022, Psychological Trauma), and 'Psychological Distress and Physical Health Symptoms in the Latinx Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic' (2022, Cognitive Therapy and Research). Awards include Society for Social Work Research Fellow (2020), Phi Alpha Honors Society (2022), and Humanitarian Award for Excellence in Mental Health (2016). She has served twice on the SSWR national board and is a founding member of the Central American Minors Workgroup.