Director of Undergraduate Studies and Curriculum
Education
- PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston
- MEd, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- BA, Brown University
Internship: Riverbend Community Mental Health
Postdoctoral Fellowship: Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School
Specialty Areas
Adolescent risk and resilience; school- and community-based intervention and prevention programs; youth mentoring; positive youth development; transition to adulthood; youth community organizing
The goal of my research is to identify, develop, and evaluate effective strategies to foster healthy developmental outcomes during adolescence and the transition to adulthood, particularly among marginalized populations. I am broadly interested in positive youth development approaches, with an emphasis on interventions that leverage the power of mentoring relationships and networks of support. I recently was awarded funding from the William T Grant Foundation to evaluate an intervention designed to teach first-generation college students to cultivate mentoring relationships. I am currently conducting a grant-funded study to evaluate an intervention designed to teach college students to cultivate mentoring relationships and social capital during the transition to college. Other current areas of research include mental health stigma, youth community organizing, and climate anxiety and climate activism.
Publications
Schwartz, S. E. O., Kanchewa, S., Rhodes, J., Gowdy, G., Stark, A., Horn, J. P., Parnes, M., Spencer, R. (2018). "I'm having a little struggle with this, can you help me out?": Examining impacts and processes of a social capital intervention for first-generation college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 61(1-2), 166-178. DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12206
Schwartz, S., Rhodes, J. (2016). From treatment to empowerment: New approaches to youth mentoring. American Journal of Community Psychology, 58, 150-157. DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12070Schwartz, S. E. O., Rhodes, J. E., Spencer, R., & Grossman, J. B. (2013). Youth initiated mentoring: Investigating a new approach to working with vulnerable adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52, 155-169. DOI: 10.1007/s10464-013-9585-3
Schwartz, S. E. O., & Suyemoto, K. L. (2013). Participant impacts and processes of change within a youth community organizing program. Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 341-358. DOI: 10.1002/jcop.21541
Schwartz, S. E. O., Rhodes, J. E., Chan, C. S., & Herrera, C. (2011). The impact of school-based mentoring on youths with different relational profiles. Developmental Psychology, 47, 450-462. DOI: 10.1037/a0021379Parnes, M., Kanchewa, S., Marks, A., & Schwartz, S. E. O. (2020). Closing the college achievement gap: Impacts and processes of a help-seeking intervention. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 67, 101121.
Contact Me
- 617-305-1922
- seoschwartz@suffolk.edu
- 73 Tremont St., Rm. 8009
Office Hours
- Schedule an Appointment
By appointment
Courses Taught
- PSYCH 249 - Introduction to Lifespan Development
- PSYCH 321 - Introduction to Counseling Skills
- PSYCH 336 - Developmental Psychopathology
- PSYCH 749 - Lifespan Development
- PSYCH 741 - Practicum IIB