SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST, RESEARCHER, & WRITER
Dave merlino, Ed.D.
"My heart lays at the intersection of education, advocacy, agency, and multimedia, whereby the most vulnerable, stigmatized, and marginalized are given voices, validated, supported, and protected. I believe we're in revolutionary times with the evolution of consciousness and dynamic mass media systems. This marriage births a viable source and time to foster the dissemination of vital data/information and solutions to epidemics for greater social awareness, equity, belonging, improved health and transformative change.Advocacy through the medium of storytelling, campaigns, impact journalism, and science/evidenced-based research expressed via multimedia for agency is my quest. This approach generates bottom-up social movements to mobilize humanity toward conscious action, grassroots activism, and service for the ultimate ethos and liberation." 🕵️😘
about
dr. Dave Merlino
My work intends to solve the most critical disparities in identity, health, well-being, and safety across the lifespan (child to older adult), as it relates to ethical standards and social determinants of health (SDoH). I translate complex information, data, and experiences through scholarly and creative mediums, yet from an empathic lens for social impact, justice, and change. Relatedly, I have a deep calling to protect and advocate for stigmatized populations while counteracting systemic marginalization endured from patriarchal narratives or conditions that invert, pervert, and divert our human decency. Further, I'm deeply connected to health science, from a nutritional, dimensional wellness, and quantum perspective, that, of which, evidences our connection to the greater, unseen forces of our ecosystem and how it relates to our mind, body, and spirit.I cover topics in:
💥💋🍑 Sexuality/Sexual health
👨❤️👨 LGBTQ+ health
🥑🍆🥒 Nutritional science & wellness
🎭❤️👀 Self and social identity, leadership, relationships, social thinking & cognition, social influence, social groups & behavior, attitudes, & prejudice & discrimination
🌎🇺🇸🚀 Global health, international relations, culture, environments, & foodMy current academic research focuses on what I've termed "fringe" LGBTQ+, such as closeted, questioning, straight/masculine presenting, behaviorally bisexual, non-gay identifying, and/or some derivative of sexually interactive with men (SIM) populations, and how heteronormative culture and [toxic] masculinity moderate their "outness," health, and well-being. Relatedly, I've upheld my dissertation defense, "Investigating the Effects of Heteronormativity and Minority Stress on Mental Health, Well-Being, Disclosure, and Concealment of Non-Gay Identifying and [Behaviorally] Bisexual Men" (see below).I’ve earned my Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Health and Applied Educational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Further, I have an M.A. in Health Promotion, Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Community Planning and Design, a B.A. in both Economics and International Relations, and 500 and 600 hour certifications in clinical nutrition and Ayurvedic health counseling, respectively.If you want to get to know me personally, which is vastly different from my profesh lifey, follow me on www.ko-fi.com/davemerlino, where I blend my personal life and some quirk with profesh stuff.Thank you for being here! 😘
FLOW DIAGRAM
Skills & Background
::Applying Evidenced-Based RESEARCH for High Impact OUTREACH
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