Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr. Jessica H Retrum

Personal Biography Statement

Dr. Retrum has eight years of clinical experience in health related social work; hospice, home care, inpatient and developmental disabilities. She has also provided mental health care to children in residential and in-home settings. Her doctoral research interests were in social work in the field of gerontology with community dwelling older adults with chronic illness and their social supports. Dr. Retrum was a recipient of the John A. Hartford Foundation Pre-Dissertation Award in 2006. Her dissertation researched involved a dyad analysis of older parents and their cohabitating child caregivers. Through her own research and affiliation with the Institute of Gerontology from 2005-2009, Dr. Retrum worked with many community non-profit organizations that serve the social, health and mental health needs of older adults and their families. She has experience teaching undergraduate and graduate level social work students at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Denver, and Metro State University of Denver.

Dr. Retrum currently serves as a Research Associate at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs. She provides support to the PARTNER project through community outreach and education, training and technical assistance, data management and analysis, scholarly work, and grant writing.

Courses Taught

SWK-2010,SWK-3780,SWK-3790,SWKM-5250