I’m the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to the U.S. from Mexico City in 1983. I was raised in the Inland Empire of Southern California, where Spanish was my first language and Mexican culture shaped my understanding of care, resilience, and community.

Before entering academia, I spent nearly ten years as a mental health professional working with Latinx individuals and families living with serious mental illness. These experiences continue to ground my research, reminding me that healing is both personal and political, and that research must be rooted in community, culture, and care.