Dr. Carl Castro

Biography

Carl Castro is a Professor and the Director of Military Veterans Programs at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. He serves as the director of the USC-RAND Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research. With a distinguished career as a retired U.S. Army Colonel, Castro is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of military transitions, trauma, and suicidality within active-duty military and veteran populations. His academic expertise encompasses several areas including Veterans Affairs, Psychological Health Effects of Combat, and Military Behavioral Health. He has also played significant roles in various educational and service sectors, advocating for improved mental health services for military families. His research is focused on utilizing artificial intelligence to reduce military suicides, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams at USC to assess and address the mental health challenges faced by veterans. Castro has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Gerson Award from the American Psychological Association in 2017, and the designation of Fulbright Specialist by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2014. His contributions extend to notable publications and research grants aimed at enhancing the well-being of veterans and their families.

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