Research/Areas of Interest:
I specialize in working with 2SPLGBTQIA+ individuals and "non-traditional families". Through my research, I have been able to offer robust empirical evidence that informs both academic and policy debates about discrimination and sexual stigma; the population's attitudes towards "modern families"; and the quality of interactions between gay fathers/lesbian mothers and their children, focusing on the study of attachment relationships.
I am passionate about studying the development of children who are raised outside the context of a traditional family, as well as outside of the binary (binary is for computers, not gender!). While research has focused on challenges faced by 2SPLGBTQIA+ folks, my work brings attention to how they remain stable and well-adjusted in face of social prejudice, i.e., a resilience-based perspective with a focus on family strengths. I am interested in Community-based participatory research with minoritized groups, folks with immigrant parents, black/brown/indigenous "non-traditional" families, and the development of 2SPLGBTQIA+ individuals in non-western contexts.
Education
- Ph.D., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico, 2014
- Postgraduate Diploma in Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, Mexican Psychoanalytic Association's Postgraduate Center (CEP-APM)/Women and Psychoanalysis Committe, Mexico City, Mexico, 2011
- M.A., Mexican Psychoanalytic Association's Postgraduate Center (CEP-APM), Mexico, Mexico, 2010
- Postgraduate Diploma in Parentality, Mexican Psychoanalytic Association's Postgraduate Center (CEP-APM)/Women and Psychoanalysis Committe, Mexico City, Mexico, 2009
- B.A., Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, Mexico, 2008
Biography
As a Brown nonbinary flamboyant Mexican immigrant, I approach my research through a lens of reflexivity, with an understanding that my own experiences and position in the world have shaped the focus of my work. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that as the effeminate child of a single mother, raised by a network of powerful women, with aspirations to have a family, and in daycare throughout childhood, I was driven to study developmental psychology as well as to deepen my studies of sexuality and gender.
My research focuses on interactions in the context of multiple caregivers and non-normative family configurations. After finishing my bachelor's degree, I completed a Postgraduate Diploma degree in Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, followed by a master's in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and culminating in a PhD in Psychology. All of my theses discussed ways to improve the lives of children and their families. From 2013-2021 I was on faculty at the National Pedagogic University (Mexico), where I developed my passion for teaching, and recently left with the title of Full Professor.
I am an Assistant Professor at EPCSHD and head of the Abigail Adams Eliot and Anna Eveleth Holman Laboratory. The 'Abby and Anna' SOGIE Lab focuses on the role of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression in human development, health, and rights to enhance the lives of children, youth, and families. My aim is to interrogate dominant theories about Human Development as well as to 'trans' Child Studies! Outside of the lab, I am passionate about practicing Ashtanga yoga, dancing, laughing and trying to spread kindness and compassion.
My research focuses on interactions in the context of multiple caregivers and non-normative family configurations. After finishing my bachelor's degree, I completed a Postgraduate Diploma degree in Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, followed by a master's in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and culminating in a PhD in Psychology. All of my theses discussed ways to improve the lives of children and their families. From 2013-2021 I was on faculty at the National Pedagogic University (Mexico), where I developed my passion for teaching, and recently left with the title of Full Professor.
I am an Assistant Professor at EPCSHD and head of the Abigail Adams Eliot and Anna Eveleth Holman Laboratory. The 'Abby and Anna' SOGIE Lab focuses on the role of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression in human development, health, and rights to enhance the lives of children, youth, and families. My aim is to interrogate dominant theories about Human Development as well as to 'trans' Child Studies! Outside of the lab, I am passionate about practicing Ashtanga yoga, dancing, laughing and trying to spread kindness and compassion.