Carmen R. Valdez

Carmen R. Valdez, PhD, serves as an adjunct professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin. She advances health equity for minoritized and marginalized populations through community-academic coalitions that integrate social capital, community experience, and university resources, emphasizing community engagement and self-determination in research design.

Dr. Valdez's research program centers on community-based participatory research, family interventions, immigrant health, and mental health. She investigates how immigration and health policies, neighborhood contexts, and family dynamics influence Latino immigrant family well-being, while examining the psychological consequences of dehumanizing narratives on undocumented youth and their families. Her work advocates for culturally responsive interventions and policy reforms to dismantle systemic barriers.

Her publications consistently address immigration status, mental health access, and identity formation among Latinx emerging adults, highlighting urgent needs for structural change. She emphasizes community-driven solutions to counter dehumanization and promote belonging through youth activism and policy advocacy.

Dr. Valdez has received significant recognition including:

• Member of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status
• Mid-Career Award from the Latinx Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (2023)

She actively mentors health equity scholars and junior faculty of color in authentic leadership and community-engaged research. Through coalition-building, she develops practical community engagement tools to strengthen academic-community partnerships, fostering sustainable change and collective advocacy for immigrant families.