Melina Juárez Pérez

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.