I am a doctoral candidate in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and a scholar-advocate committed to inclusive and community-engaged research. I earned my bachelor’s in science degree from the University of California, Riverside, where I double-majored in Psychology and Sociology, and my master’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Pittsburgh. My work centers the voices and lived experiences of racially and ethnically diverse youth, focusing on how structural factors and sociopolitical contexts influence mental health and well-being, identity development, civic engagement, community resilience, and collective action.

 

My early research examined socioemotional and sociocultural learning processes in educational settings, emphasizing the development of culturally responsive interventions that support academic engagement and achievement, emotional regulation, well-being, and identity formation for all students, with particular attention to those from historically underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. Building on this foundation, my current work investigates how youth learn about and engage in civic action—such as community and sociopolitical participation—as both a sociocultural learning process and a developmental process that supports wellness. I draw on interdisciplinary frameworks—including sociocultural, ecological, and critical theories—to explore how broader social systems and learning environments influence youth development. My work pays particular attention to the roles of sociocultural socialization (e.g., messages youth receive about culture, race, and societal challenges) and how these shape their understanding of and engagement with the world around them.

 

My current research contributes to advancing health equity and sociocultural learning by examining how the intersections of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status shape both the structural risks and strength-based protective factors that influence youth mental health, identity development, and access to culturally responsive supports. My dissertation, Empowered Voices, is a mixed-methods study that explores how civic action shapes the mental health and well-being of racially and ethnically diverse youth from various socioeconomic backgrounds—as both a developmental process and a pathway to wellness—by identifying the family, community, and institutional factors that promote collective agency and support healthy participation and sustainable engagement in sociopolitical life.

 

In addition to my academic research, I am deeply involved in teaching, mentorship, service, advocacy, and public scholarship. I have taught undergraduate psychology courses and am committed to fostering inclusive, community-centered learning environments that honor students’ diverse backgrounds and connect classroom learning to real-world contexts. I also collaborate with youth-serving organizations across Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania to elevate youth leadership, advance mental health equity, and co-create policy-relevant research that drives systemic change. I am also a co-founder of SEED (Scholars for Elevating Equity and Diversity), a collective committed to illuminating inequities in mental health and health outcomes through academic scholarship and community-academic partnerships. As a native of Southern California and a first-generation American scholar shaped by multicultural experiences, I am passionate about transforming systems to be more responsive and reflective of the communities they serve.

 

Outside of research, teaching, and advocacy, I am also active as a political and grassroots organizer and activist. I enjoy watching and analyzing films, writing poetry, gardening, painting, dancing, making jewelry, designing fashion, playing music, attending concerts, and curating creative and community-centered spaces—often using art and music as tools for collective action, community healing, and identity expression among both young people and adults.