Ivania Delgado

With 15 years of extensive experience, Ivania Delgado has dedicated her career to aiding individuals, couples, families, and groups in Miami-Dade County through her work in mental health services, spanning both the public and private sectors. Her expertise encompasses a wide range of settings, allowing her to impact the community's well-being. Previously, Ivania focused on supporting foster-care youth who have been adversely affected by commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking with the CHANCE program. The CHANCE program provides individual and/or family therapy and crisis intervention to commercially sexually exploited children. In the capacity of a clinician, Ivania Delgado offered services to foster-care youth in Miami, Florida, who had been negatively impacted by commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The therapy services were provided to both individuals and families. Additionally, she completed assessments to determine if the youths would benefit from C-SEC trauma-informed care and provided foster parents with additional training for specialized therapeutic foster care for C-SEC victims. In her role, she also offered court testimony at G.R.A.C.E. Court, which is part of the Juvenile Dependency Division of the Miami-Dade Courts. G.R.A.C.E. Court, an acronym for Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change, and Empowerment, is a specialized court devoted to the needs of children identified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation and labor trafficking. Her testimonies included but were not limited to clinical recommendations regarding reunification, supervised/unsupervised/or therapeutic visitation rights, placement, residential treatment recommendations, termination of parental rights, the child's ability to testify, and overall support. Ivania visited local high schools and colleges to increase awareness by providing educational presentations on C-SEC and HT. She actively participated in multidisciplinary staffing and collaborated on treatment planning and the delivery of services.

Her dedication to helping vulnerable populations reflects her commitment to social justice, collaboration, and compassion. As a seasoned professor, she imparts her wisdom to undergraduate and graduate students, teaching social work and psychology courses for over 15 years in higher education. Through her role as an educator, she continues to influence future professionals by encouraging critical thinking, and a systems-based understanding.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Ivania is a mother, partner, daughter (hija), and active community member. She stands in solidarity with the individuals she serves, striving for liberation and empowerment.

Industry/Opinion Contributions-

Ivania Delgado, PsyD, MS, MSW, is a dedicated, seasoned educator who actively contributes her expertise through compelling opinion pieces on various topics.

"Industry Perspectives: The Only Thing the Stop-Woke Act Will Stop Is Critical Thinking" - Dr. Ivania Delgado shares her views on critical thinking and the potential implications of the Stop-Woke Act in Social Work Today, Vol. 23 No. 1, on page 28.

"How to Help Students Thrive During Pandemic Times and Beyond" (September 1, 2022) - Published in THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect, this piece provides valuable insights on supporting students' well-being during the challenging times of the pandemic and beyond.

"It Takes a Village (to Help Young People Heal)" (November 6, 2022) - Featured in The Educators Room, this article focuses on the significance of community support in helping young individuals cope with grief and trauma, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"National Human Trafficking Day: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children" - Published on an important day of awareness, this article sheds light on the critical issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. It was featured in The Educators Room, where Dr. Ivania Delgado provides insights into the challenges faced by children and the urgency to address and combat human trafficking.

Commentary-

Dr. Ivania Delgado Provided Expertise Commentary - Dr. Delgado lends her expert commentary on a fact-checking article about human trafficking, as featured on usatoday.com. "Fact Check: False Claim of Human Trafficking at Pennsylvania Walmart"

Dr. Delgado was quoted for her insights discussing the potential impact of the bill on higher education and academic freedom. " Florida's Bill Advances Extreme Censorship on University DEI, Gender Studies, and Queer Studies: A Trend of Restrictive Measures by Conservative State Lawmakers" By Alexandra Martinez | March 20th, 2023-

Furthermore, Dr. Ivania Delgado has an upcoming book chapter titled "Searching for Liberation in Higher Education: Testimonio from Miami-Dade County" in the book "Peace as Liberation: Visions and Praxis from Below." This forthcoming book is part of the Springer Peace Psychology series, aiming to undo epistemic violence and unleash liberatory peace agendas by centering the voices of Southern/racialized scholars from different parts of the world.

Training and Presentations:

1.International Conference on Critical Peace Studies held on August 8, 2023, organized by Centre for Critical Peace Studies (CCPS). Presented: " Liberation in Higher Education: Testimonio from Miami-Dade "

2. Ongoing sessions provided to Miami Dade County social work field instructors during 2020-2021, focusing on:

- Anti-Racist/Anti-Oppressive Practice

- Cultural Humility

- Intersectionality

3. Panel Discussion on systemic racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions with Miami Dade Community Based Care Alliance. Series: The Conversation. Summer of 2020.

4. Global Social Welfare Summit with SWhelper - Anti-Racism Virtual Summit 2021.

Session Description (on 10/27/2021):

- Identifying the limitations and consequences of the banking system model of education in the helping professions as experienced by the speakers (Freire, 1994).

- Engaging in a discussion using testimonios that will focus on the importance of embedding criticality, social justice, cultural humility, and historical knowledge that connects to the specific identities of the students and their communities.

- Engaging in a discussion that advocates for changes in the curriculum, teaching practices, and policies that oppress students.

5. - GLOBE Talk: Conscientization for Liberation in Social Work Education

A liberation psychology platica (talk) that addresses ahistoricism in the education and training of helping professionals, highlighting the significance of critical consciousness raising in the classroom to foster a liberation praxis in the world. This talk emphasizes the importance of challenging the status quo and promoting social and political awareness in social work education.

Community-

In addition to her roles as a mental health professional, educator, and board member with EduExito and Step Up For Mental Health, Ivania Delgado is a passionate advocate for digital social justice. She actively uses online platforms to promote social justice causes and amplify marginalized voices. Furthermore, Dr. Delgado remains unwavering in her commitment to supporting her community's efforts to protest against systems of oppression, both at home and abroad. Her dedication to creating positive change and fighting for justice exemplifies her profound sense of compassion and solidarity with those seeking liberation and empowerment.