Rate My Professor Alex Washington

Dr. Alex Washington, full name Thomas Alex Washington, serves as Professor and BASW Program Director in the School of Social Work within the College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Long Beach. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2002, M.S.S.W. from the University of Tennessee-Health Science Center in 1998, and M.A. in Sociology from the University of Memphis in 1995. His career includes prior roles as Faculty Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Disparities Solutions, associate professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore, visiting professor at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies in the Department of Medicine, and provider of outpatient treatment group therapy at the VA Medical Center in Memphis. Currently, he co-directs the Population Research Institute for Science and Medicine, an NIGMS/NIH-funded affiliate of Charles Drew University, and teaches research methods and statistics.

Dr. Washington's research specializations encompass transgender health, pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention, gender identity and human sexuality, HIV/AIDS primary and secondary prevention, health disparities, and web-based research protocols. He has obtained funding from NIDA/NIH, NIGMS/NIH, SAMHSA, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Key publications include "Assessing the Impact of Length of Time Living Full-Time as a Member of one's Affirmed Gender on Psychological Distress and Suicidal Ideation among Transgender Adults" (2026), "Serious Psychological Distress and Suicidal Ideation Among Transgender Persons Who Self-Identify as Pansexual and Bisexual" (2025), "The Relationship Between Anti-Transgender Experiences (A Proxy for Minority Stress) and Heavy Alcohol Use Among Transgender Adults" (2025), "A COVID-19 Prevention Program to Encourage Vaccination Among High-Risk Populations: The PEACE with COVID Model" (2022, Health & Social Work), and "Factors Associated with HIV-testing History Among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States" (2013). He has presented research at national and international conferences in Thailand, Canada, Egypt, Australia, South Africa, Amsterdam, and Peru, contributing to advancements in health equity for sexual minority populations. Dr. Washington has received major awards such as the 2025 CSWE CSOGIE Spirit Award, 2022 Ellen Ward Leadership Icon Award from the LGBTQ Center Long Beach, 2019 CSULB President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement, 2017 Distinguished Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award, CSULB Early Academic Career Excellence Award, and NAESM Gerald A. Ludd Lifetime Achievement Award for HIV leadership in the Black community. He serves on the editorial boards of Urban Social Work and Best Practices in Mental Health journals, as well as community advisory boards including the Kensington Research Institute and TEACH/ADAM Projects.