Team Members

LeNisha is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Developmental area in the Department of Psychology at UC Riverside. She graduated from CSU Northridge with her B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development with an emphasis in Applied Developmental Science. She is broadly interested in how early educational experiences influence ethnic identity development, academic motivation, and overall well-being. During her free time, she enjoys discovering new music artists and catching up with family and friends.

Chelsea is second-year doctoral student working in the YHD lab with a strong desire to continue to serve the public good in academia and at a community level after program completion. She is ultimately passioned around empowering Black and Latinx youth to be able to thrive in their own communities. Broadly, her research interest is around exploring factors that prevent youth from being able to thrive in overlooked and under-resourced communities. Fun fact: I love to watch Tik Tok videos and traveling.

Josh is first-year doctoral student, who earned his master’s degree in psychological research and is extremely excited to continue his journey at UCR with the YHD lab under Dr. Loyd’s guidance. Josh’s research and passion is inspired upon equality and giving back to ethnic minority marginalized communities for his daughter and future generations. His research interests focus on health inequalities, adverse health outcomes, and community participatory action research among marginalized communities. During his free time, he loves to go running and play a video game called Pump It Up.

My name is Angie, and I am a 4th year psychology major. I am interested in studying adolescence and emerging adulthood, particularly peer groups, bullying, and social hierarchies in school settings. Through research, I hope to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. In my free time, I enjoy thrifting, going to concerts, and trying as many restaurants as I can in Riverside.

My name is Sierra and I’m a 3rd year psychology major. I’m interested in learning more about developmental psychology. In the future, I look forward to pursuing graduate school and working to fight mental health disparities among African American and Latinx youth.

My name is Halie Allen and I am a fourth-year Anthropology major with a concentration in Black & Black Diaspora Studies and a minor in Psychology. In the future, I hope to become a therapist who works mainly with children, especially those of color. I plan to pursue higher education and earn a PsyD.

My name is Kayla and I am a 3rd year African American Studies major. I am interested in the identity development of black youth. In the future, I hope to contribute to the field of research involving Black studies and overarching themes of black psychological development.

Elsie Awuah is a 4th year Psychology major who plans on earning her B.S. in Psychology in Spring of 2024. She gained her love in developmental psychology as she has worked with children for the past year and is fascinated by their perspective of life. Post-graduation, she is hoping to be on the path of obtaining her PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on development.

My name is Musashi Alan Avalos and I’m a 3rd year psychology major from the Bay Area. I’m interested in learning more about clinical/counseling psychology, especially addiction-related disorders, substance abuse, concussion related mental disorders and rehabilitation methods. In the future, I look forward to attending graduate school in order to obtain my LPCC, MFT, and CRC certifications. My hobbies include soccer, football, basketball, Formula One, video games, playing with my cats and supporting my favorite team, Arsenal.

Liana joined the Youth Health and Development Lab as a research assistant in January 2022. She graduated from UCR in June 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology/Law & Society, and is currently applying to doctoral programs. Her primary research interest is in the evaluation and implementation of school and community-based interventions to prevent justice-involvement and promote community wellbeing.