E&SD has been fortunate in persuading Dina Birman to join the editorial board where her expertise on intercultural aspects of education and self development will be invaluable.
Dr. Birman is an expert on the psychology of immigration, particularly on refugee mental health, acculturation and adaptation of immigrants and refugees, and community-based interventions designed to improve their mental health and well-being. Dr. Birman has conducted research in the United States on adaptation of adolescent, adult, and elderly refugees, including those from the former Soviet Union, Central America, Somalia, and Vietnam. She has published on school and psychological adjustment of refugee adolescents, the role of parental involvement, differences in acculturation between adolescents and their parents, and effectiveness of community and school-based mental health interventions. As a community psychologist, she explores these topics from an ecological perspective, studying the impact of characteristics of the schools and receiving communities.
Currently Dr. Birman is Professor of Educational and Psychological Studies and Director of the Community Well Being Ph.D. Program at the University of Miami. Previously she held academic positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Birman received her Ph.D. (1991) and M.A (1987) degrees in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and B.S. (1983) in International Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to starting her academic career, she worked as a program officer in the Refugee Mental Health Program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (1991-1997), providing consultation and technical assistance on mental health issues to the U.S. refugee resettlement program administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). She continues to collaborate with refugee resettlement providers on research. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Society of Community Research and Action (SCRA), and International Academy for Intercultural Research. She serves on the Executive Committee of SCRA, on the APA Council of Representatives, and as Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Intercultural Relations.