Leticia Alvarez

Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Culture, and Society within the University of Utah's College of Education, a position she has held since her promotion in 2016, following her tenure as Assistant Professor from 2007 to 2015. She also serves as a Faculty Affiliate with the Latin American Studies Program and the Urban Institute for Teacher Education. Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a designated emphasis in Adolescent Development, where her dissertation examined parents’ and adolescents’ conceptions of parental authority in a Mexican origin cultural context; an Ed.M. from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education in Human Development and Psychology with emphasis on Risk and Prevention Programs for Adolescent Youth; a Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Teaching Credential from California State University, San Marcos; and a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Spanish from the same university. Earlier in her career, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow through the American Educational Research Association/Institute of Education Sciences at the University of Wyoming from 2004 to 2007 and an Instructor in Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.

Alvarez Gutiérrez's research specializations encompass activism as social justice pedagogy, immigrant youth and families, Latina/o critical race theories, and community-engaged scholarship, often focusing on resistance to anti-immigrant policies, family-school relationships, and equitable education. Notable publications include “Caution, we have power: Resisting the ‘school-to-sweatshop pipeline’ through participatory artistic praxes and critical care” (Gender & Education, 2019, with Cahill et al.), “¡Ya basta con la ciudadanía restrictiva!: Latina/o young people and their families’ transformative citizenship understandings and actions” (International Journal of Multicultural Education, 2017), “Resisting Invisibility through Creative Expressions: Immigrant Students and Families’ Voices and Actions” (Journal of Family Diversity in Education, 2018, with Quijada Cerecer), and “Youth engagement in social justice educational movements in the face of Anti-Latina/o immigrant legitimacy” (The Urban Review, 2014). She has earned significant honors, including the Bennion Center's Distinguished Faculty Service Award, Ruby Chacon Social Justice Arts Award (2019), College of Education Service Award (2018, $1000), Faculty Teaching Award (2015, $1000), Cesar Chavez Peace & Justice Award (2016), and AERA/IES Postdoctoral Fellowship (2004-2007). Her contributions extend to community partnerships, such as the Family-School Collaboration Design Research Project published in Education Week, and mentoring through programs like Mestizo Arts & Activism.

Professional Email: leticia.alvarez@utah.edu