bio
photo by Hannah Benet
hobbies : screenwriting, figure skating, and yoga.
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at CSUSB and Principal Investigator/ Director of the Learning to Learn (L2L) Lab, awarded early¹ tenure in 2026. ( I live in Los Angeles! )
Joining the Office of Doctoral Studies, I also serve a courtesy appointment as core faculty in the James R. Watson & Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education, supervising doctoral students by Chairing their theses.
My research explores the development of child and adolescent learning by examining individual, developmental, and sociocultural factors impacting real-world outcomes. This work employs both laboratory and field-based methodologies, where I bridge the fields of cognitive science and education. My work is guided by a broader goal of informing policy, practice, and intervention that aim to reduce societal inequalities, some of which stem from learning environments and social contexts.
My PhD in Developmental Psychology was under Dr. Deanna Kuhn at Columbia University.
I completed postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and UCSD with Dr. William A. Sandoval on projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
With Dr. Tania Lombrozo, I completed the micro-Sabbatical program at Princeton University.
My undergraduate advisor at UC Berkeley was Robert Reich, J. D., where I studied both Psychology and Public Policy.
Previously, I’ve served as faculty in the Department(s) of Psychology at Thomas Jefferson University (where I began tenure track), as well as UPenn and Columbia University.