Michael Goodman, MDiv, MPH, DrPH
Associate Professor
Department of Global Health

Physical address:
UHC, Suite 4.336
1005 Harborside Drive
Galveston, TX 77555

Mailing address:
301 University Boulevard
Galveston, TX 77555-1150

Phone: (409) 292-6588
Fax: (409) 772-5272
Email: migoodma@utmb.edu

  • Michael Goodman, MDiv, MPH, DrPH, has dedicated over 15 years to working in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on applied social epidemiology. Since 2012, Dr. Goodman has concentrated on fostering and measuring community-driven development, initially to support the reintegration of street-living children in Kenya and subsequently to address a range of biopsychosocial outcomes impacted by social disorganization. Oriented towards complex and multilevel modeling, with related intervention development and evaluation, Dr. Goodman has lead-authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications culminating in the development of the "Flourishing Community Model" (FCM). The FCM provides a stepwise process of nurturing community leadership, prosocial behaviors, and sustainable improvements across economic, social, psychological, behavioral, and clinical outcomes. The FCM informs the first peer-reviewed, proven-effective approach to reintegrating street-involved children and youth in any low- or middle-income country, enabling the reintegration of over 500 formerly street-dwelling children and youth, and community-driven systems transformation with over 12,000 families in 44 villages in Kenya. Dr. Goodman is actively involved in NIH-funded research to adapt the FCM for families living with HIV, with an expanding focus on quantifying its effectiveness in parenting, mental health, HIV prevention, and climate change adaptation. To enable a more robust systems science, integrating community leadership with institutional support, Dr. Goodman is currently working to develop and validate a new measurement of community self-governing processes informed by the work of Elinor Ostrom on the Core Design Principles. 

    Curriculum Vitae (CV)

    • DrPH, University of Texas Health Science Center - School of Public Health, 2014
    • MPH, University of Texas Health Science Center - School of Public Health, 2011
    • MDiv, Emory University - Candler School of Theology, 2007
    • BA, Religion and Philosophy, 2004
  • Structural interventions; integrated community development; global health; socio-ecological models of health; positive epidemiology; applied social epidemiology; flourishing communities; global health; adverse and positive childhood experiences; community psychology; behavioral health; social capital

    • Center for Health Promotion, Performance, and Rehabilitation Research; UTMB
    • Division of Infectious Diseases; Department of Internal Medicine; UTMB
    • International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect