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 an ongoing transnational participatory and action research project that explores the psychosocial effects of U.S. detention and deportation policies on Central American families in the U.S. and Guatemala: The Human Rights of Migrants Project. 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 community-based, 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 could be better promoted in each setting and how settings could be enhanced to support youth well-being.

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 relationships are developed and maintained within such complex families and sociopolitical contexts. I am especially interested in the contributions of adolescents to the well-being of their families and communities in the current socio-political moment. My second area of research examines community-based and participatory research aimed at addressing unjust policies and practices and the ways in which youth participation may contribute to more just systems and positive youth outcomes, such as subjective well-being, critical consciousness, and greater civic engagement. I employ community-based and participatory research methods, working with families and adolescents as well as community-based organizations and institutions as partners in the research process.

Teaching

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