Dr. Natasha Mendoza, an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University, earned her doctorate in social work from The Ohio State University. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral training at the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Specializing in substance use and co-occurring disorders, Dr. Mendoza values the integration of harm reduction principles and community-based research methodologies to advance understanding in behavioral health. Her work connects diverse service systems, including crisis response, treatment, health care, legal, and child welfare, providing an integrated perspective on service delivery and workforce development.
Furthermore, Dr. Mendoza’s research explores the intersections of wellness and identity—cultural, gender, and sexual—contemplating the impacts of power and oppression on behavioral health. Her approach is rooted in the analysis of interpersonal relationships within diverse cultural and systemic contexts, emphasizing community-based insights.
In her role as an educator, Dr. Mendoza is dedicated to fostering the development of students, grounding their learning in the empirical foundations of social work, particularly focusing on the treatment of substance use and co-occurring disorders. She is a proponent of behavioral health workforce development, ensuring student and practitioners acquire proficiency in compassionate, evidence-based strategies that uphold the dignity and holistic well-being of individuals confronting substance-related challenges.