Christine Norton

Dr. Christine Norton is Professor at Texas State University's School of Social Work, holding licensure as LCSW-S, CCAT, CCTP, and CET. She earned her Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago, MA in Social Service Administration from University of Chicago, and MS in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato. With over 30 years' experience across therapeutic wilderness programs, juvenile justice, schools, and foster systems, she maintains clinical practice and international research engagements.

Her scholarship focuses on adventure therapy, trauma-informed interventions, foster care educational support, and international social work. She co-directs the Outdoor Research Collaborative for Health, Wellbeing, and Experiential Engagement and founded the international Foster Care Adventure Therapy Network. As former Foster Care Liaison Officer to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, she established the FACES program supporting foster alumni.

Honors include Fulbright Scholarship for adventure therapy teaching in Taiwan and over $3.1M in secured research funding. Publications include 60+ peer-reviewed articles, 3 edited books, and 10 book chapters. She delivers TEDx talks on resilience and storytelling.