Dr. Bernadine Waller is an award-winning National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Translational Epidemiology and Mental Health Equity at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric  where she focuses intervention and implementation science. 

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Dr. Waller’s ground-breaking research is nationally lauded and transforming the landscape of domestic violence service provision. She developed the first theories in the US that identify help-seeking among Black women. Her passion for meeting the psychosocial needs of Black women survivors is evident. She is the winner of multiple awards for her research, including 4 national awards: the 2022 Violence Against Women and Children's Manuscript Award from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the 2022 Elizabeth Young New Investigator Award from the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD); the 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Society of Social Work and Research (SSWR); the 2022 Student Award for Social Work Research from the Group for the Advancement of Social Work Education (GADE). She has also won 1 respectively from New York State: 2023 NYS Women of Distinction Award from NYS Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean Pierre; and Columbia University: the 2023 Columbia University Postdoctoral Excellence Award. Her scholarship has also been used to help shape the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and is currently being used to reshape domestic violence service provision system in the US Department of Defense and New York City. 

 

Dr. Waller's research interest stems from more than a decade of practice experience. She has provided trauma-informed services to IPV survivors and court-mandated offenders. Her scholarship has been published in high impact journals including Trauma, Violence & Abuse. Her work has been highlighted in the New York Times and her OpEd articles can be found in Newsday and the Huffington Post.

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Dr. Waller is a scholar-clinician who has taught in academia for more than 15 years. Her pedagogical prowess has also been nationally lauded: the 2020 GADE Award for Teaching in Social Work. She is as a member of the Council for the Role and Status of Women, a sub-committee of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Research Capacity and Development Committee (RCDC) of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). 

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Dr. Waller is an award-winning former journalist and marketing consultant who serves on the board of directors for the Long Island Children's Museum, whose mission is to provide diverse experiential education through play. ​