This interview is part of a new series on Vida de PhD—a podcast hosted by Lorena Aceves, a research scientist at ChildTrends, that explores stories of impact at the intersection of research and people. In collaboration with Child Trends, this series aims to spotlight researchers whose work meaningfully supports youth, families, and communities. In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Andra Wilkinson, senior researchscientist at Child Trends, about her journey into research, her approach to impactful science, and her vision for the future of public health research.
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Mara Lopez, who is just the coolest human ever. Her educational journey is uniquely hers and the story she tells with it is so empowering. Mara is an incredible human, professional, and student of life. Tune in to learn more about her journey! En amor y poder, Lorena
This interview is part of a new series on Vida de PhD—a podcast hosted by Lorena Aceves, a research scientist at Child Trends, that explores stories of impact at the intersection of research and people. In collaboration with Child Trends, this series aims to spotlight researchers whose work meaningfully supports youth, families, and communities. In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Renee Ryberg, senior research scientist at Child Trends, about her journey into research, her approach to making an impact, and her vision for the future of research on student parents.
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Debbie Rivas-Drake who takes us through journey into academia. She shares a wealth of wisdom around mentorship and the power it has to transform journeys. We also touch on the importance of community beyond your institution , such as national societies like the Society for Research on Child Development. Enjoy this amazing episode, en amor y poder! Lorena
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Rebecca Berger about her journey to pursuing her PhD and a non-academic career. Rebecca shares some precious gems around mentorship and her journey that may shed some light for your journey. Tune on in! En amor y poder, Lorena
This episode focuses on rebooting the show after a break for the summer. Lorena recaps the importance of community by finally sharing some highlights from the SRCD 2025 conference along with some comments from SRCD Latinx Caucus members. Tune in to relish in the beauty and importance of community.
This podcast is part of a new series on Vida de PhD—a podcast hosted by Lorena Aceves, a research scientist at Child Trends, that explores stories of impact at the intersection of research and people. In collaboration with Child Trends, this series aims to spotlight researchers whose work meaningfully supports youth, families, and communities. In this inaugural episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Samantha Holquist, program area director for education at Child Trends, about her journey into research, her approach to community engagement, and her vision for the future of education research.
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Elizabeth Munoz a fellow Latina scholar who is also a Penn State grad! Elizabeth is the first aging researcher that Lorena has on the show. She talks about the importance of family in her educational and professional journey and making career decisions that uplift your personal life goals too! Tune in to hear her story and be inspired!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena sits down to interview Karina who now is Dr. Karina Jalapa. Karina shares her journey growing up in a Hispanic family and pursuing higher education. She dives into her graduate school experience which is almost complete. Karina ends by sharing that she's open to exploring where her journey may take her outside of the academy. Tune in, especially if you are at the beginning of your doctoral journey.
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Lisa Lopez that walks us through her journey in higher education to her current position as a full professor. Lisa talks about the important of role that community and community partnerships has played through her academic journey. Tune in to listen and learn more about her journey.
En Amor y Poder,
Lorena
In this episode, host Lorena interviews Dr. Joshua Wallace to finally record the podcast Black History Month feature. Josh takes us through his journey in higher education to obtaining his PhD. He shares some very important insights for those out there early in their careers. Also shout out to Vanessa Esquivel, Josh's wife and the face behind latinasgettingphds, and her mom's tacos! Don't miss this episode.
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, host Lorena has an amazing conversation with Dr. Suzanne Le Menestrel about her journey that led her to various amazing professional experiences outside of the academy. Lorena quickly learned how many professional similarities she shares with Suzanne, especially how one of her initial professional experiences was at Child Trends. There was a special shout to a few of Child Trends’ seasoned scholars. Suzanne ends by sharing some very important words of wisdom especially for those of us paving the way outside of the academy. Tune in!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena has a spanglish conversation with a great mentor of hers Dr. Ruben Anguiano. Ruben shares about his early days as a child and adolescent and how that shaped his journey. Ruben also really dives into the importance of community in the work that we do and how being rooted in community has driven where his professional journey has taken him. My son Gabe makes a special appearance on this episode with his babbles in response to Ruben. Tune in and enjoy!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena sits with Dr. Koraly Perez-Edgar to hear about her journey to where she is today. Our conversation got really deep and vulnerable when Koraly shares the beauty and challenge of growing professionally in ways that come at a cost to family closeness. We finish with Koraly sharing her words of wisdom. Tune in... this is probably my favorite episode so far!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Pinetta who shares her journey to her current role as a postdoc at UCLA. Bernadette shares how her work has come full circle and she is now conducting research with the high school she attended. She also shares really important nuggets of wisdom around building community and how useful that is in graduate school and beyond. Tune in to hear for yourself.
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena and Juan get together and talk about vision setting for 2025. They both are open and vulnerable about how this season of life has got them thinking about vision and goal setting in a whole different way. We share 3 main take aways and tons of nuggets of wisdom that are helping us as we move into 2025. Hope they are useful for you too!
En amor y poder,
Juan & Lorena
In this episode, host Lorena reflects back on the year 2024. She talks about the 3 major take aways for 2024 and the major theme she also takes away from this year. Tune in to hear more and hopefully you have time to dive into your own reflections for 2024. Don't forget about the magic of life <3
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, host Lorena reflects back on 3 major things she has learned 6 months into parenthood and 3 months after her return to work. These reflections can also apply to other life transitions that you may be going through. Tune in if you would like to learn and also hear a few updates I have about more reflection episodes to come!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Wendy Castillo who shares her journey as a Latina scholar to pursuing her PhD and moving into a non-academic space. She also talks about her current journey back into academia. We also talk about her awesome line of QuantCrit work! Tune in!
En amor y poder,
Lorena
In this episode, Lorena interviews Dr. Deziah Bermudez and get to dive into her journey to the PhD. She talks about how life gets real while getting your PhD and how to balance personal life with the academics. Deziah also shares the importance of support during the journey. Hope something from her story resonates with you.
En amor y poder,
Lorena