Lina is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education, specializing in Human Development in Context. She has a B.S. in Fine Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an M.A. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from California State University at Northridge. Her master’s thesis was centered around preschool teacher perceptions of the children in their class, problematic classroom behavior, and self-regulation. Lina’s current research examines how potential relationships between empathic traits and attitudes about social responsibility may influence prosocial tendencies.  Her research interests also include emotional intelligence, compassion in educational contexts, classroom environments, and the impacts of stress.

Alysia Cruz is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education, specializing in Human Development in Context. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Drexel University. She also earned her M.S. from Lehigh University in Developmental Psychology. Alysia explores how cultural values and acculturation shape the parenting practices and communication styles of Latino families in the U.S. She is interested in acculturative stress in developing youth, and how culture and socialization practices affect Latino students in the classroom.

Roushanac Partovi is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education, specializing in Human Development in Context. She is interested in exploring how the developmental timing of adversity, supports, and assets influence prosocial development and educational outcomes among immigrant-origin youth. Prior to UCI, Roushanac received her Masters in Public Health at the George Washington University.

Joy Roos is a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri, Columbia in the School of Education and Human Development. Her research program is directly influenced by her work as a social worker and advocate for minoritized youth and families in the Midwest. The main objective of her research is to understand the factors that facilitate or inhibit youth’s prosocial behaviors toward ethnic and racial outgroups with the goal of promoting positive intergroup relations and immigrant/minoritized youth well-being.

Marixza Torres is a Ph.D. student at the University of California Irvine specializing in Human Development in Context (HDiC). She is interested in studying adolescent development, cultural influences, academic achievement, and family dynamics. Prior to UCI, Marixza received her B.A in Applied Psychology from Eastern Washington University. She was recently accorded an Honorable Mention from the 2020 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Foundation Program (NSF GRFP).

Kathy Tran is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Education, specializing in Human Development in Context. She plans to research the multicultural experiences of students of color, their families, and students’ academic achievements. Before attending UC Irvine, Kathy received a B.A. in Psychology and was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar at California State University, Fullerton. As an undergraduate, she developed her McNair thesis that examined Southeast Asian American college students’ involvement in student cultural organizations and same-race and intraminority friendships as potential predictor variables of belonging.