Faculty and Staff Directory

Introduction

My training is in Community Psychology and Applied Developmental Psychology, and more broadly, in using community-based and participatory research to address unjust systems impacting adolescents and their families. I received my PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology from Boston College in 2012. During my graduate studies, I worked closely with the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College, and participated in a transnational participatory and action research project that explored the psychosocial effects of U.S. detention and deportation policies on Central American families in the U.S. and  Guatemala (and on Mayan families in particular). After receiving my PhD, I worked as a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University where I directed mixed-methods and evaluation studies of youth settings throughout the U.S., including youth development programs and trade colleges. These studies examined how the strengths of youth (e.g., civic engagement) could be better promoted in each setting and how settings themselves could be enhanced to support positive youth development and well-being for diverse groups of youth. 

Current Research

I have two main research interests. The first is the experiences of transnational and mixed-status migrant families throughout the U.S. and how family members support one another during increasingly challenging sociopolitical moments. I am especially interested in understanding the contributions of adolescents to their families and communities, including by working to redress unjust systems in their lives, and how adolescents can be best supported by their primary developmental contexts (e.g., schools) as they take on such significant responsibilities. 

My second area of research examines community-based and participatory research processes and how such work can be enhanced to support greater mutuality across collaborators. Within this line of inquiry, I explore youth participation in research and action processes and the extent to which their participation may enhance these processes while also supporting the development of positive youth outcomes, such as subjective well-being, critical consciousness, and civic engagement. As a participatory researcher, I work with families and adolescents as well as community-based organizations and institutions as partners in the research process.

Teaching

• Adolescent Development
• Community Psychology, Research, and Action
• Immigrant Youth & Families 
• Introduction to Psychology
• Life-span Human Development
• Race, Class, and Gender as Contexts of Development
• Qualitative Research Methods