Ph.D. in Social Welfare from Boston College, Boston, MA & ITESO, Guadalajara, Mexico
MSW from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Anayeli Lopez, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces, NM. Dr. Lopez received dual Ph.D. degrees in Social Welfare from Boston College and ITESO-Jesuit University of Guadalajara in 2019. During her doctoral studies she was the recipient of the Fellowship in International Social Welfare at Boston College-ITESO. Dr. Lopez practiced social work in Indiana, where she developed educational interventions, conducted outreach, and developed partnerships between local schools, community leaders, and Latino immigrant families to increase access to higher education among immigrant youth.
Dr. Lopez also holds several years of experience conducting research on Latino immigrant families and children using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Her research focuses on the impact of immigration enforcement on the well-being of immigrant families and children and addressing the service need of this population. She has conducted research to better understand the familial, social, and educational realities of Latino immigrant families in North Central Indiana, including those who are undocumented. She has also examined the outcomes of unaccompanied children from Central America in long-term foster care. Some of the outcomes of her work include several refereed conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed academic articles. Her teaching interests include teaching courses related to cultural diversity, policy, and research
Lopez, A.*, & Shen, C. (2020). Predictors of self-esteem among adolescents in Mexican immigrant families: An examination of well-being through an ecological perspective. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work
Lopez, A.*, Viramontez Anguiano, R. P, Galindo, R., Chibucos, T., & Atencio, A. (2018). Mennonite Country: The role of school parent liaisons and school administrators connecting with immigrant Latino families in North Central Indiana. School Community Journal, 28(2), 139-158.
Crea, T. M., Lopez, A.*, Hasson, R., Evans, K., Palleschi, C., & Underwood, D. (2018). Unaccompanied migrant children in long term foster care: Identifying needs and best practices from a child welfare perspective. Children & Youth Services Review, 92, 1-152. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.017.
Crea, T. A., Lopez, A., Taylor, T., & Underwood, D. (2017). Unaccompanied migrant children in the United States: Predictors of placement stability in long-term foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 93-99.
