Joseph Gallegos, PhD, MSW
Areas of Research & Specialization
I am a professor of social work education with over forty years of teaching and administrative experience in higher education. My research has broadly focused on cultural mental health. I have specialized in gerontology and social policy. I am cited in the social work literature as initiating the concept of cultural competence which has guided much of my research and advocacy work. Western Research Associates is my consulting firm specializing in social research and program development. Most recently I served two terms in the Oregon State Legislature House of Representatives. Social justice is my passion.
I live in Hillsboro with my wife Sheila, her cat Potato, and my dog Maya. My daughter Amelia is a funeral director in the bay area. Maya and I love anything that takes us outdoors, snowshoeing, kayaking, camping, hiking, backpacking, as well as road trips and horseback riding (well Maya not so much the last one.)
Education
YEAR INSTITUTION/LOCATION DEGREE FIELD OF STUDY
2001 Sophia University Summer Japanese culture
Tokyo, Japan Course Language/Religion
1999 Centro Mexicano International Summer Spanish/International
2001 Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico Course Social Work
1997 Instituto Cultural Summer Spanish/Indigenous
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico Course Mexican Culture
1983 University of Maryland, Post‑Doc Mental Health
1984 College Park, MD Research Management
1978 University of Denver, Ph.D. Social Welfare/
Denver, CO Mental Health
1973 Portland State University, M.S.W. Psychiatric
Portland, OR Social Work
1972 Portland State University, B.S. Psych/Soc &
Portland, OR Social Work
1972 Centro Internacional de Summer Spanish/
Documentación, Cuernavaca, Course Social Change
Why I study social work
Social work has allowed me to live an actualize life of doing what I believe. In the words of George Eliot “What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” Or, as I conclude, “Why are we here if not to leave the world a little better place than when we came.” Further, social work has allowed me learn how to focus my knowledge, skills, and values on social justice work.
What I would tell a student considering social work
I would tell students that social work education is the most versatile degree. It is the helping profession that addresses individual as well as community and even society. Social work is the one applied helping profession that uses knowledge from any and all disciplines that may better the human condition.
Personal Affiliations
Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Commissioner
Council on Social Work Education, former Commissioner
National Association of Social Work, Social Work Pioneer
Selected Publications and Presentations
“Leading with Values,” OLAA Leadership Institute for Public Service, Center for Public Service, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University, August 11, 2017, Portland, Oregon
“Social Policy Practice and Leadership Development: Returning School Social Workers to Oregon Schools,” Social Policy 2 Conference, St. Louis Mo, April, 2016
“Increasing Students’ Interest in Gerontological Social Work through a Research Methods Course.” Poster presented at the 55th Annual Program Meeting, 2009, with Rogers, A., November 6-9, San Antonio, TX.
“The need for advancement in the conceptualization of cultural competence,” Gallegos, J.S., Tindall, C., Gallegos, S.A. (2008). Advances in Social Work, 9(1), 51-62.
“Mentorship--and Beyond: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Gerontological Participatory Action Research by Design,” Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, Conference Presentation, Portland, Oregon, March 2007.
“Pathways to health and mental health service utilization among older Mexicans and Mexican Americans,” the International Social Work Journal January 2007.
Columbia County Even Start Program Evaluation, Community Action Team, St. Helens, Oregon September, 2006.
Second-Hand Cigarette Smoke in Latino Business Establishments Study,
Oregon Human Development Corporation, Tigard, Oregon September, 2006
Latino Alumni Study: 10 Year Scholarship Recipients, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Portland, Oregon, June 2006.
Instructor’s Manual: Human Behavior and the Social Environment. Textbook published by McGraw-Hill Publishers. Textbook is part of a series of books targeted toward social work core curriculum for undergraduate and graduate programs. 2005.
Cultural influences on life satisfaction: A comparative study of Japanese and Japanese-American elders. Hallym International Journal of Aging, 5(1), 19-39. 2004
“Hispanic Initiatives: Pathways to health and mental service utilization: A comparison of Older Mexicans and Mexican Americans,” Baccalaureate Program Directors Conference, Reno, Nevada, October, 2003.
“Hispanic Initiative: Models for institutional change with case examples,” Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of NASW, Idaho chapter, Boise, ID. 2003
“Pathways to health and mental service utilization: A comparison of Older Latinos and Latino Americans,” paper to be presented at the 1st Annual National Gerontology Social Work Conference at CSWE’s Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA. 2003
“Oaxaca, Mexico, a Case Study in Post-Modern Perspectives for Redefining Social Development in the New Global Order,” and “Pathways to health and mental health service utilization among older Japanese,” International Conference of Schools of Social Work, July, 2002, Montpellier, France.
“Conversando en familia: Comparison of intra-family violence in families immigrating from Morelia and Oaxaca, Mexico to Portland, OR,” NASW State Conference, November 2000; and 2nd Annual Power in Partnership Conference, October, 2000, both in Portland, OR.
“Cultural Competence and International Social Work,” Conference Proceedings, International Federation of Social Workers, World Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September, 2000.
“Bias Motivated Violence: Feeding on Fear,” Treatment Today, Summer Issue, Quest Publications, 1999.
HONORS/AWARDS/FUNDED GRANTS
2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Lifetime Award, Portland, Oregon Jan, 2010.
2008 St. Martin de Porres Trust, “Community based partnership project.”
2004 Nominated for election to the Nominations Committee of the National Board of Directors for the Council on Social Work Education.
Oregon state, “Latino Tobacco Education Project” grant with Oregon Human Development Corp.
Campus Compact Grant “Oregon Latino K-12, Hunger, and Urban Rural Project,”
Butine, “Latino Civic Engagement protocol development project”
2003 Campus Compact Grant “Hispanic Initiative Workshops”; Selected, Oregon/Mexico Health Exchange delegate. UP Social Work Program Awarded Accreditation Candidacy Status
2002 Selected, Oregon American Leadership Forum Class 17
Portland State University (research grant), “Civic Decision Making: Transnational Perspectives”
Oregon Campus Compact Grant award, “Hispanic Initiative at University of Portland”
Awarded: Butine Travel Grant—Research Presentation Montpellier France
2001 Nominated: Leadership for a Changing World
2000 Butine Faculty Development Award, “Sophia University Summer Program in Japan”
2000 Butine Research Award, “Interviews of Japanese Elderly in Japan and U.S.”
2000 Oregon College Compact, service/learning mini-grant
1999 Butine Research Award, “Morelia—International Social Work Course Development.”
1999 St. Martin de Porres Trust, “Indigenous Migrant Workers from Michoacan, Mexico.”
1999 Oregon state Award for Civil Rights work on behalf of state of Oregon Hispanic population, Oregon Uniting, Oregon State Capitol, Salem.
Office Location: Eugene Campus, Suite 200, Office 200-A