Gabrielle Elizabeth Bernal
gabernal@umich.eduGabrielle (Gaby) Elizabeth Bernal is a former special education teacher. Gaby was born and raised in California and taught in the Bay Area for six years before pursuing a Ph.D. to strengthen her skills in supporting and mentoring teachers. She is currently a Doctoral
Candidate in Educational Studies in the teaching and teacher education track with a focus on mathematics education at the School of Education. Her research interests center on systems and ways of knowing by exploring teachers' and students' mathematical multimodal discourse and embodied experiences. Her interdisciplinary work is rooted in performance studies and culturally sustaining education in formal and informal math learning spaces in the community, at home, and within schools.
Kate Morman
kmorman@umich.eduKate Morman is a former secondary English teacher. She was raised in Kansas City, Missouri and taught in Phoenix, Arizona before pursuing a Ph.D. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology. Her research interests include how teachers think about and enact culturally-centered practices.
Saraí Blanco Martinez
snblanco@umich.eduSaraí is a 5th year PhD Candidate in the Combined Program of Education and Psychology as well as a Master's student in the School of Social Work, in the Community Change pathway. Her research focuses on how Latinx immigrant communities experience and embody radical healing. She finds joy in dancing, cooking, and spending time in nature with her two dogs, Nala and Cookie.
Ana Patricia Esqueda
esqueda@umich.eduAna Patricia Esqueda is a third year student in Developmental Psychology. Prior to graduate school, she completed a B.A. in Psychology with minors in Linguistics and Latino Studies from Princeton University. She is interested in exploring how systems of oppression- namely those that devalue members of low socioeconomic status or racial minorities- impact the linguistic and social development of individuals.
Gabrielle Kubi
Gabrielle Kubi is a third-year doctoral student in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology, also completing a certificate in African American Diasporic Studies. Her research explores how young Black people develop a critical consciousness and their conceptions of race based on their navigation of educational institutions; how Black girls and women come to see the world through an intersectional lens; and how educational spaces can be reimagined to better support these forms of development.
Jessica Montoro
jmontoro@umich.eduJessica Montoro is a fifth year student in Developmental Psychology at the University of Michigan. Prior to attending graduate school, she completed a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently interested in exploring the ways in which culture and social class factors influence Latinx youth and college students' ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization and school/college experience.
Bernardette Pinetta
bjpinett@umich.eduBernardette Pinetta is a fifth year student in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology. She is interested in understanding how teachers can better support adolescents of color's ethnic-racial identity development and critical analysis.
Victoria Vezaldenos
toriavez@umich.eduVictoria Vezaldenos is a second year student in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and a 2023 NASEM Ford Predoctoral Fellow. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Minor in Education Studies and in 2022 completed her Master's in Educational Studies with a focus in Program Evaluation and Improvement Research at UM. She is interested in exploring ethnic-racial identity development processes for multiracial adolescents and young adults. Her work aims to develop a reliable measure of critical multiracial ethnic-racial identity to allow for wider-spread use of quantitative methods in the field of multiracial ERI development.
Oluwaseun Oyindamola Ogunleye
seuno@umich.eduOluwaseun is a first-year Master's student of Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Equity, Justice, and Social Transformation. Her interests stem from Linguistic and educational equity, intersectionality, community engagement, and truth-telling through research. She is currently learning Mandarin and is always looking for avenues to practice and learn.
Yadira Estrada
Lab Manager
yestrada@umich.eduYadira Estrada is a first-year student in the School of Social Work's Master's program with a concentration in Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse. She graduated from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. She is primarily interested in how adversity impacts development (socially and neurologically) and increases the risk for mental illness. Additionally, Yadira hopes to pursue a joint Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Social Work to serve marginalized youth by providing assessment and treatment services.
Alumni (Graduate RAs): Amanda (Mandy) Finn, Sydney Kayne, Stephanie Miller-Tejada, Kate Morman, Sasha Mejía, Oscar Ramirez, Delina Zapata, Erika Mendez, Casta Guillaume, Bryan Montano Maceda, Mo Torres