Erick da Luz Scherf, MSW
Social Worker,
Author,
Researcher & Educator
Hello and thank you for visiting this platform!
I'm Erick, an emerging scholar and researcher in the fields of Social Work & Public Policies.
I follow a tradition of critical inquiry and human rights-based approaches to health and social care services. I have a passion for research, service, and advocacy at the intersection of social work, health, and public policies, especially concerning vulnerable groups and marginalized populations.
As an academic-in-training, I have developed an interdisciplinary and steadily growing record of peer-reviewed publications and national and international conference presentations spanning human rights, social work, public policies, and migration studies. My academic journey has been fully supported by a series of competitive, merit-based scholarships and fellowships, which have funded my education from the undergraduate level through my Ph.D.
Personally speaking, my identity as a Brazilian-born individual informs the way I look at a lot of things in life, including the rampant inequities experienced by the populations I study. Growing up poor in South America has fundamentally shaped my worldviews and, to this day, still influences my theoretical and conceptual orientations toward socioeconomic inequality and health inequities.
I believe that solutions to society's most pressing social problems should be aimed at fostering structural reforms, empathy/solidarity, and collective action at all levels of government and society.
Professional Bio
Erick is a first-gen student and social work researcher born and raised in Brazil. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in International Relations (University of Vale do Itajai, Brazil) and a Master of Social Work degree (University of Stavanger, Norway), and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Alabama School of Social Work. Throughout his education and career, he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from different sources, including the Brazilian Ministry of Education, the European Commission, the University of Alabama, and the Council on Social Work Education, among others.
Erick’s scholarship focuses on the intersecting and structural factors that shape the health and well-being of historically marginalized groups, especially those with a migration background. Specifically, his doctoral dissertation work and research agenda look at the biopsychosocial implications of labor migration among Latinx immigrants in the U.S. He is particularly interested in understanding the role of mezzo and macro-level factors, such as public policies and grassroots initiatives, in shaping the lived experiences of immigrant workers. His long-term goal is to produce research that is translated into policy and other actionable steps, including programming, to improve the lives of immigrants, their families, and society as a whole.
His work has been published in International Social Work, Frontiers in Public Health, Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, Health Care Analysis, and the International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, among other notable publications. Erick is involved in multiple research projects and initiatives concerning the health and well-being of Latinx and other minoritized populations in the U.S. As a member of the Rest and Resilience research group at the University of Alabama, he primarily contributes to research on the mental health of Latina women in Alabama. As a Graduate Student Affiliate in the Forced Migration Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis, he has worked on studies that focused on the health impact of migration policies among international students and highly educated immigrants.
In early 2025, he was selected to join the competitive Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship sponsored by the Council on Social Work Education, through which he received training in the federal legislative policy and worked on developing a policy brief, learning how to communicate research findings to policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.
Additionally, Erick has lived and studied in five different countries and speaks three languages (English, Portuguese, and Spanish). He is passionate about multicultural and international social work education, and he advocates for epistemological pluralism and cultural sensitivity in social work teaching, research, and practice. He has been invited to speak at multiple academic events in Brazil, Portugal, and the U.S., and has presented his refereed academic works in at least 20 conferences.
Teaching-wise, Erick has been a guest lecturer in several courses and also acted as a graduate teaching assistant to a Human Behavior and Social Environment course, and as an instructor of record to a SW101-Orientation to Social Work course. He can teach in the general curriculum and is particularly drawn to research and policy courses.
My latest accomplishments
Selected as CSWE Doctoral Student Policy Fellow
2025-2026 Cohort
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes ... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. ... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. ... They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
- Steve Jobs