Jess Lucero, Ph.D.

Field: Social Work
Areas of Focus: Community Planning, Domestic Violence, Housing, Refugees, Social Work

Expertise

• housing and homelessness
• domestic violence
• community planning and development
• refugee services

Bio

Dr. Lucero is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Social Work at Utah State University. She earned her PhD in Social work at Wayne State University in 2012 and her MSW degree from the University of Wyoming in 2008. Her work experience spans domestic violence, community organizing, and crisis response. She is an executive member of the Local Homeless Coordinating Council and board member on Utah’s Balance of State Continuum of Care board. In addition, she is the chairwoman of the Logan City Planning Commission. Her community-based research centers on violence prevention and intervention, refugees in the U.S., and housing justice issues. She works with numerous housing and homelessness community partners in her research and teaching and is deeply invested in bridging the university-community divide. She was honored as her College’s Teacher of the Year in 2016 and with the University faculty award for service in 2019. In addition, she was honored with the Distinguished Alumni award from the University of Wyoming in 2019.