Dr. Gladys Aguilar

Gladys Aguilar is an Institute of Education Sciences Equity in Early Childhood Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Before earning her Ph.D. in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching at Harvard University, Gladys was a bilingual public elementary school teacher and family therapist working alongside children and families in under resourced communities in Los Angeles, California. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and her M.S. in Counseling at California State University, Los Angeles. 

Gladys applies sociocultural and resilience frameworks to investigate factors affecting the psychosocial well-being and educational success of ethnoracially and linguistically minoritized children in the U.S. and abroad, particularly Latine children in immigrant families. Her research examines bilingualism and ethnic-racial identity as strengths in their learning and development, focusing on these culturally informed competencies within home and school settings. Drawing on her lived experiences as an immigrant from Yucatán, México, and as a first generation college student, she aims to inform equity-focused early childhood policies and practices that recognize and elevate immigrant families’ cultural assets while promoting their children’s positive development.