Rachel Cheree Garthe

Rachel Cheree Garthe is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity at the University of Illinois, serving as Undergraduate Research Coordinator in Social Work and Affiliate at the Center for Social & Behavioral Science. Her work focuses on violence prevention across developmental and ecological contexts with emphasis on structural inequities.

Dr. Garthe's educational background includes:

• Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Prevention Science, The University of Chicago (2016-2018)
• PhD in Developmental Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
• MS in Developmental Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University

Her research examines youth violence etiology and prevention in urban low-income communities through developmental-ecological frameworks, with specialized focus on inclusive approaches to dating and intimate partner violence among marginalized populations including racial/ethnic minorities, transgender youth, and justice-involved women. She develops and evaluates multi-level violence prevention interventions across school, family, and community settings.

Recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on contextual violence exposure patterns, with 2025 works analyzing cybervictimization in adolescent dating, neighborhood-depression links in Black/Latine adults, multi-context violence exposure in minority youth, community prevention barriers, and posttraumatic growth in sexual assault survivors. These reflect her methodological strength in community-engaged research across diverse populations and settings.

As Undergraduate Research Coordinator, Dr. Garthe mentors student researchers while leading community-school partnership projects. Her work involves extensive collaboration with urban community organizations to implement and evaluate violence prevention programs, though specific grant details aren't provided in available materials.