Faculty/Community Professionals
Rodrigo Cantarero
Associate Professor, Community and Regional Planning Department
(402) 472-9278, email: rfc@unlserve.unl.eduDr. Rodrigo Cantarero Worked as a director of planning at the ministry of Housing and Humman Settlements, as an advisor to the minister of Economics and the president of the Central Bank of Nicaragua. Has done research on behavioral risk factors of minority populations in Nebraska (surveys), and his latest work is about quality of life issues in small towns in Nebraska who have experience a large influx of immigrants.
Here is Dr. Cantarero's webpage.
Gustavo Carlo
Professor, Department of Psychology
(402) 472-6931. e-mail: gcarlo@unl.eduProfessor Carlo's primary research interest is social development, more specifically prosocial and moral development. His research focuses on the sociocultural, socialization, and personality processes associated with moral behaviors in children and adults.
Miguel A. Carranza
Professor, Sociology and Ethnic Studies/Latino and Latin American Studies
(402) 472-3080, email: mcarranza1@unl.edu
I have been involved with the Latino Research Initiative since its inception in 1996, especially in my role as UNL representative to the Midwest Consortium for Latino Research. My research interests focus on the cultural, economic and social integration of Latino immigrants to the Midwest. More specifically, I am interested in the research questions - What 'sense of community' do long-time and recent immigrants have in urban and rural Midwestern and Northern Great Plains communities, and how does it impact their overall Quality of Life. I also have an interest in the multiple roles that language plays in creating a feeling of 'belonging to? and being a ?part of? the predominantly white, non-Latino communities.Here are Dr. Carranza's webpages, Sociology and Ethnic Studies.
Miguel Ceballos
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Ethnic Studies/Latino and Latin American Studies
(402) 472-3421, email: mceballos2@unl.eduDr. Ceballos received a B.A. in Chicano Studies at the University of California-Berkeley, an M.A. in Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. in Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to coming to Lincoln, Dr. Ceballos held a National Institute of Aging Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Population Studies Center of the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan. His current research interests are focused on the demography and sociology of Latino health and health disparities of ethnic minority populations, the process of migration and acculturation in the United States, and the role of social networks and social capital in U.S.-Mexico migration. He is currently analyzing a National Science Foundation-funded survey, of the Latino community in the Midwest to better understand the effects of the acculturative process on maternal and infant health.
Maria Rosario T. de Guzman
Assistant Professor and Extension Specials Child, Youth and Family Studies
(402) 472-9154, email: mguzman2@unlnotes.unl.eduDr. de Guzman research examines the role of culture in social development, and the sociocultural factors that promote prosocial behaviors in youth. Her extension work focuses on positive youth development and promoting cultural competence among adolescents.
Here are Dr. de Guzman's webpages: Extension and Adolescent Development.
Rev. Dr. Joel Gajardo
Program Director Nebraska Urban Indian Medical Center
email: joelgajardo@yahoo.comGloria Gonzalez Kruger
Lecturer, College of Education & Human Sciences
(402) 472-5797, email: ggonzalezkruger2@unl.eduI am a lecturer in the Dean's Office in the College of Education and Family Sciences and teach as needed in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program. I have experience as a educator, researcher, and therapist in community and educational settings. In addition to being a faculty member, my experience includes providing programming (e.g., mentoring for youth, social support groups), educational (parenting and child-related workshops), research, and therapeutic services (in-home, play, and family-based therapy) in elementary schools and community centers for people of color (primarily Latino/as and African Americans). My work involves the identification, development, implementation, and assessment of cultural sensitive, relevant, and competent education, research, and community-based services that will address the needs of underserved populations, particularly children, youth, and families of color.
Edmund "Ted" Hamann
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education
(402) 472-2285 email: ehamann2@unl.eduProfessor Hamann came to UNL's Dept. of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education in 2005 after six years working for a federally-funded regional educational laboratory. Trained as an anthropologist, his core interests include how educational policy is shaped and implemented in response to changing student demographics (i.e., the growth in Latino students), how school reform efforts do or do not respond to English language learners, and how students and schools negotiate students' transnational mobility. He is currently contributing to a research project in Mexico studying elementary and secondary school students there who have previous experience in U.S. schools. Here is Dr. Hamann's webpage.
David J. Hansen
Professor, Department Chair, Department of Psychology
(402) 472-2619, email: dhansen@unlserve.unl.eduProfessor Hansen's research interests include (a) child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect and witnessing domestic violence), including assessment and adherence, generalization, maintenance and social validity; and (b) social-skills assessment and intervention with children and adolescents. Emphasis is placed on procedures for assessing and improving generalization, maintenance, and social validity of interventions. Please see Dr. Hansen's Child Maltreatment Research Team website for additional information on research and clinical service/training opportunities.
Cody S. Hollist
Assistant Professor, Child, Yuth and Family Studies
(402) 472-8105, email: chollist2@unl.eduDr. Hollist received his doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University in 2004.
His area of interest is adolescent mental health and Latino immigrant family functioning. His research focuses on family therapy with Latino families and the impact of immigration policy and societal perception on Latino families. He is currently working on a longitudinal project in Brazil looking at family development, a project of therapist perception of engagement with Latino families in therapy and a project to understand the impact of deportation on children and families. Dr. Hollist spent a year in Brazil where he taught, did research, and conducted clinical work. During that time he was able to further understand the academic culture of Brazil and develop relationships with the academic community there. He was also able to learn skills and philosophies for more effective therapeutic treatment of Latino families. Dr. Hollist teaches in Family Science. He is also the faculty advisor for the Family Science student Organization, designed to help prepare students for future employment.Lisa Knoche
Research Assistant Professor, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.
(402) 472-4821, email: lknoche2@unlnotes.unl.eduLisa currently serves as Project Director for the federally funded Getting Ready Project: Parent Engagement and Child Learning Birth to Five, an intervention project aimed at young children's school readiness. Her research interests include social development in child care settings, child care characteristics, as well as intervention and prevention efforts for at-risk children and families. Her interest lies in developing and evaluating interventions and research methodologies for use with at-risk populations. She has worked on the evaluations of the local Early Head Start Program as well as the Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP) and been involved in the Midwest Child Care Research Consortium.
Amelia Maria De La Luz Montes
Associate Professor, English & Ethnic Studies/Latino and Latin American Studies, Women's and Gender Studies
(402) 472-8291, email:amontes@unlnotes.unl.eduDr. Montes, teaches nineteenth-century and contemporary American literatures. She is also an affiliate faculty member in Women?s and Gender Studies as well as the Creative Writing program. In nineteenth-century literatures, she has established a firm tradition of Mexican American studies through her work on the author Mar?a Amparo Ruiz de Burton. In contemporary literatures, she is a scholar of feminist, lesbian, Chicana and Latina theory and cultural studies. Dr.Montes also teaches creative writing and publishes fiction. Among her scholarly publications are a co-edited anthology, Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton: Critical and Pedagogical Perspectives, and Tortilleras on the Prairie: Latina Lesbians Writing the Midwest (Journal of Lesbian Studies). Her most recently published short fiction includes Amigdala in River City Journal, and "R for Ricura," in Circa 2000: Lesbian Fiction at the Millennium. Her current writing projects include a critical book entitled, Corazon y Tierra: Latinas Writing the Great Plains & Midwest and a collection of short stories entitled, While Pilar Tobillo Sleeps. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Denver. Dr. Montes was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.
Sandra Williams
Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History
(402)472-9057, email: swilliams2@unl.eduProfessor Williams teaches Visual Literacy in the Department of Art and Art History. Her areas of study include ceramics, printmaking and mixed media. Sandra exhibits her work nationally. Her involvement in LRI stems from a background in working collaboratively with youth groups in the fabrication of public art pieces. She is interested in how the participation in the creation of public murals build a stronger sense of being part of a community, promote collective conscience and civic responsibility.
Students
Brian Armenta
Doctoral Student, Department of Psychology
email: barmenta@earthlink.netBrian is a graduate student in the social psychology program. He received his B.A. in psychology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and his M.A. in psychology from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research examines 1) the antecedents and consequences of European Americans’ perceptions that Latinos and other ethnic minority groups pose a threat (e.g., cultural values, economic status) and 2) the nature, causes and consequences (e.g., psychological, behavioral) of ethnic identity among Latinos and other ethnic minority groups.
Jennifer De Leon
Graduate Student, Child, Youth and Family Studies
email: jdeleon04@earthlink.netI am a doctoral student in the department of Child, Youth and Family Studies. I have worked with the youth data from the Quality of Life study related to biculturalism, parent attachment, and substance use and have been a research assistant with projects among Latinos in Nebraska and Mexico. My current interest is in internationally mobile (Third Culture) families.
María José Herrera
Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology
email: herreramariajose@gmail.comMaría José is a graduate student in the clinical psychology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her interest are in the areas of health behavior (cigarette smoking) and depression. Currently she is examining cognitive and trait variables that explain stress reactivity among depression-prone smokers. María José also has a strong interest in Latino mental health treatment. UNL Health and Addiction Vulnerability Laboratory Website.
Maria I. Iturbide
Doctoral Student, Department of Psychology
email: isiar@hotmail.comI am a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program. My research interests are ethnic minority
parenting differences, ethnic identity development, and acculturation. I am also a member of the Evaluation
team for the Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP). Currently, I am a research assistant to Drs. Raffaelli and Carlo for their Latino Adolescent Health Disparities Project.M. Marilu Martinez
Graduate Research Assitant, Developmental Psychology
email: martinez_m4@hotmail.comMarilú Martínez is a graduate student in the developmental psychology program. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas- Permian Basin. She currently works as a research assistant for the Getting Ready Project and the Rural Language & Literacy Connections project. Her research interests include: ethnic differences in maternal instruction, academic readiness in at-risk populations, and the influence of acculturation in family dynamics.
Sandie Plata-Potter
Doctoral Student in Educational Psychology
email: splatapotter@gmail.comI am a graduate student at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. I am in the Educational Psychology program in the area of cognition, learning, and development. I graduated from UNL with a BA in Latin American Studies and Spanish and minored in education and psychology. The focus of my research is education and Hispanic/Latino students. I am also passionate about the attainment of higher education, especially for Hispanics/Latino/a. Some of the research I have presented at conferences include: ?Latinos and Upper Degree Attainment: The Mentoring Factor? and ?A Perspective on Education: Two Exploratory Studies on Education in Mexico and the U.S.? Since 2002 I have mentored a young woman through the Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP) at UNL, and I am also a member and past president of Sigma Delta Pi (Hispanic Honor Society) and a McNair Scholar.
April Schueths
Doctoral Student, Department of Sociology
email: aprilschueths@gmail.comI am currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I also graduated with a MSW from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. My research interests include race/ethnicity, undocumented immigration, Latino/a education, and qualitative methods. Currently, my primary focus is on my dissertation research entitled, "Mixed Citizenship Status Families: Experiences of Latino/a Immigrants and their Partners in the United States." I am completing final ethnographic interviews with undocumented and formerly undocumented Latinos/as and their native-born partners and spouses. My goal is to understand the social, political, and economic barriers and resources mixed citizenship status families encounter and utilize. I am also working on several projects with Dr. Miguel Carranza focused on Latino/a mentoring and undocumented Latino/a students in higher education. I have been a member of LRI since 2006.
Arturo Villarreal Jr
Graduate Student , Department of Sociology
email: zuibeli@msn.comI am currently a Sociology Master's student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I graduated from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, not Michigan, with a BS in Sociology and minors in Anthropology and Criminal Justice. I am currently a research assistant for Dr. Miguel Carranza. My research interests are the effects of disability on mental health, immigration, acculturation and inequality.
Lorena Pulgarin
Program Director, Latino Achievement Mentoring Program, UNL
(402) 304-7702, email: lamp2@unl.eduMarecela Raffaeli
Professor
(402) 472-0737, e-mail: mraffaelli@illinois.eduMarcela Raffaelli, a founding member of the LRI, was at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1995-2008 and held a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Ethnic Studies (Latino and Latin American Studies). She is now a Professor in the Department of Humana and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Raffaelli’s main research interest is promoting healthy development among adolescents and young adults, with a particular focus on gender and cultural issues. Her current work focuses on development of homeless and impoverished Brazilian, sexual socialization in Latino families, and promoting positive adaptation of immigrant families.
Frenando Rivera
e-mail: drfiz@yahoo.comMy main areas of interest are Latino families, sociology of health, race and ethnicity, medical sociology and criminology. I'm currently working with the Quality of Life Study assisting on data entry and codebook construction.
Rosalie Torres Stone
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Center for Mental Health Services Rsearch, University of Massachusetts Medical School
email: Rosalie.TorresStone@umassmed.eduRosalie Torres Stone primary area of research is in social inequality and family. Her primary research area in sociology is Latino/a sociology and labor market outcomes. Her research specifically focuses on intra-group comparisons and examines how predictors of earnings vary by race/ethnic group membership. Dr. Torres Stone is currently conducting a research study on Latino youth in rural Nebraska entitled, ?Substance Abuse and Mental Health Among Latino Adolescents? with Dr. Dan Hoyt. The research is supported by a pilot research grant from the UNL tobacco settlement funds. The initial phase of this project gathered focus-group data from Latino youth in two Nebraska communities. The overall purpose of the study is to identify cultural risk and protective factors for rural Latino adolescent?s mental health and substance use. This research will provide initial information for how culturally informed prevention programs may be designed to address the unique social and cultural challenges faced by Latino youth in rural settings.
Byron L. Zamboanga
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Smith College
e-mail: bzamboan@smith.eduByron Zamboanga joined the Smith College faculty in 2003. His work centers around the study of acculturation and its impact on identity development and risk-taking behaviors among Latinos. He is also interested in examining the influence of culture on drinking expectancies and alcohol use in Latino populations. Byron has been with the LRI since 1998 and was involved in the development and implementation of the Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP), and the Quality of Life Study of Latinos in Lincoln. He received his B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley (1996) and his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2003).
The LRI also includes a number of other individuals including undergraduate and graduate student research assistants.
