Samantha Eisert is a recent MSW graduate and current Social Welfare PhD student at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is a proud first-generation college student and “Triple Bruin” as she also earned her BA in Psychology at UCLA with a minor in Environmental Systems and Society. Sam is committed to social justice advocacy through community-driven research that aims to disrupt entrenched systems of power and privilege. She hopes to utilize participatory qualitative research that bridges theory and practice, centering the voices of those most affected. She is specifically interested in work surrounding the harmful family policing system and how we can critically engage with lived narratives to provide direct support and inform policy change.

Sam’s research experience spans quantitative and qualitative methodologies, touching on culture, identity, adolescent development, disability justice, and even more systemic analysis to strengthen community mental health services. She currently works as a graduate student researcher with UCLA’s Public Mental Health Partnership (PMHP), which has been named the Center of Excellence for the state’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs.