Silvia Dominguez

Associate Professor of Sociology

Dr. Silvia Domínguez, Ph.D., MSW, specializes in the welfare of vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad, emphasizing race, violence, immigration and social networks. She serves as an associate professor of sociology. She is also a faculty fellow at the Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies Program and the Brudnick Center for the Study of Conflict and Violence. Among numerous research reports, articles, and reviews, Dr. Domínguez is the author of Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing and Immigrant Networks (New York University Press, 2011), examining the lives of Latina immigrants in public housing in greater Boston. She also co-edited a book with Bettina Holstein, Mixed Methods with Social Networks, that came out with Cambridge University Press in 2013. She has also published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on immigration, social networks, and mental health.

Dr. Dominguez also serves as an independent Forensic Evaluator for the State of Massachusetts and has been recognized by the United States Census Bureau as an Ethnography expert in low-income populations.

Silvia Dominguez graduated with a BA in sociology and psychology from Boston College and a master’s in forensic psychiatric social work from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. She received a Ph.D. in sociology and social welfare policy at Boston University. Dr. Dominguez taught at Smith College before coming to Northeastern.

Before working in academia, Dr. Dominguez directed the Massachusetts Correctional Center’s psychiatric services at Norfolk. Dr. Dominguez grew up in Chile and lived in France and Montreal. She is fluent in English and Spanish and relatively advanced in French.

Awards & Honors

2011 Guest, Humanities Center, Northeastern University; Book Release Party, Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing and Immigrant Networks.
2011 Guest Presenter, The Latino Cultural Center and the Snell Library “Meet the Author” Series, Northeastern University; Book Reading, Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing and Immigrant Networks.
2010 Recognized by the United States Census Bureau as an Ethnography Expert on Latino populations.
2009 – 2010 Recipient, Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Diversity Fellowship.
2007 – 2009 Health Disparities Fellow, National Institute of Health.
2006 – 2007 Finalist, Kellogg’s Health Scholars Program, Harvard School of Public Health.
2006 Urban Health Research Institute Fellowship, Northeastern University.
2005 Finalist with Celeste Watkins, Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research,Center for Families at Purdue University and the Boston College Center for Work and Family.
2005 Honorable Mention with Celeste Watkins, Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship (Article) Award, American Sociological Association; Race, Gender, and Class Section.
2004 Dissertation Proposal Award, Community, Families, and Work Research Institute at Brandeis University

Selected Publications

Silvia Dominguez. Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing and Immigrant Networks, 2011. New York University Press.
Silvia Dominguez and Tammi Arford “It is All About Who You Know: Social Capital Based Interventions to Eliminate Health Disparities Among Low-Income Populations. Health Sociology Review. 2011.
Silvia Dominguez and Isidro Maya-Jariego “The Acculturation of Host Individuals: Immigrants and Personal Networks.” Community Psychology (2009).
Silvia Dominguez and Amy Lubitow. “Transnational Ties, Poverty, and Identity: Latin-American Immigrant Women in Public Housing.” Family Relations. (2008).
Silvia Dominguez. “Estrategias de Movilidad Social: el Desarrollo de Redes para el Progreso Personal.” Redes. Spain (2004)
Silvia Dominguez and Celeste Watkins. “Creating Networks for Survival and Mobility: Examining Social Capital Amongst Low-Income African-American and Latin-American Mothers.” Social Problems (2003). In 2005, this article was a Finalist for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research given by the Center for Families at Purdue University and the Boston College Center for work and family. That same year the article also received an honorable mention from the section Race, Gender, and Class from the American Sociological Association for its Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Article Award Committee.