Dana M. Prince (she/her) is a health disparities researcher whose work focuses on the transition to adulthood for marginalized youth involved in public systems, including foster care, juvenile justice and homelessness services. Her federally funded research centers on LGBTQ+ youth, particularly those aging out of care, parenting or experiencing housing instability. Prince uses affirming, strengths-based approaches to LGBTQ+ youth development, addressing the impacts of stigma, discrimination and abuse, while building protective factors like peer support, chosen family and self-affirming beliefs.
Her research is grounded in more than six years of direct practice in West Philadelphia public schools, where she developed and evaluated health initiatives for low-income racial and ethnic minority youth. These experiences sparked her commitment to cross-system collaboration and community-engaged prevention science. Across her work, Prince uses a cumulative disadvantage framework to understand how structural inequities shape risk behavior and mental health, and to inform multi-level interventions that promote youth wellbeing.
A queer femme and longtime LGBTQ+ advocate, Prince has engaged in activism for over 25 years. Her work is informed by intersectional feminism, queer theory, critical race theory and disability studies. She centers youth voice in all aspects of research and practice, from participatory methods to workforce training on best practices with queer and trans youth. She has investigated the impact of anti-trans policy on mental health service delivery and led research that harnesses peer support to reduce self-harm among LGBTQ+ youth in care.
Prince completed a NIDA-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine before joining the Mandel School faculty.
Biosketch | Curriculum Vitae | Google Scholar
Why I Teach
I approach teaching from the perspective that we are all learners, and we are all teachers. I have taught in K-12 public schools, community spaces and higher education. In social work education, I endeavor to co-create vulnerable and authentic learning spaces with my students. Central questions that drive my teaching include those related to power, knowledge (what ‘counts’) and belief systems. I love teaching theory because it is more than just “ideas”—theory shapes our perspectives, beliefs and actions, and the material (“real”) world. It is that possibility for personal and collective transformation that motivates me to teach.
Why I Chose This Profession
I am inspired by the radical tradition of community social workers who fought and advocated for basic human rights and improvements to the lives of the most marginalized. At its best, social work challenges the status quo and advances equity and justice.