Melina Juárez Pérez earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of New Mexico in 2018. She joined Western Washington University in the fall of 2019 with a dual appointment in the Department of Political Science & Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program. Her work focuses on the intersections of class, gender, race, & sexuality & their role in shaping the lived experiences, health, & happiness of Latinx & queer people of color. Her current research agenda centers on Latinidad, Chicanidad, and immigration. This includes investigating their theoretical & institutional boundaries & their political, emotional, & biological manifestations. In addition, her work also seeks to expand the use of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) & critical pedagogies in the social sciences.
Her work has been published in journals such as the Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, Policy Studies Journal, & Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law.