Carol Cleaveland

Carol Cleaveland, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Social Work at George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services. With over 15 years of experience researching Latino immigration, she has focused on Central American Latinas since 2013, examining trauma related to immigration systems and human smuggling.

• Specializes in immigration-related trauma and policy
• Recipient of Senior Faculty Master Teacher award (2016)
• Senior Fellow at Yale's Urban Ethnography Project (2013)
• Provides pro bono psychosocial assessments for immigrants

Her research demonstrates that Latina immigrants in clinic-based samples have PTSD rates ten times higher than average American populations. Key methodological approaches include ethnographic studies and social-spatial analysis of migration patterns.

Selected publications:

• 2019: Latina immigrant trauma and human smuggling experiences
• 2017: Immigration system navigation guide for social workers
• 2013: Border-crossing narratives of poverty and survival
• 2009: Undocumented immigrant terminology and practice guidelines

Awarded multiple investigative reporting honors including:

• Pennsylvania Bar Association Awards (1990-1991)
• Philadelphia Society of Professional Journalists Award (1990)
• American Bar Association National Award (1989)

Teaches graduate courses in:

• SOCW 674 - Psychopathology
• SOCW 645 - Community Clinical Practice
• SOCW 653 - Immigration Policy