Team

Dr. Chavira is the inaugural director of OUR and a professor in the Psychology Department. She holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Chicana/o Studies from CSUN and a doctorate in Developmental Psychology from UC Santa Cruz. As principal investigator and co-director of student training for BUILD PODER, she has engaged over 350 minoritized undergraduate students in research using Critical Race Theory and equity-minded frameworks. Additionally, she leads an NSF HSI STEM grant to establish a STEM undergraduate research office, ESTUDIO, and participates in the NSF Advance SPACES grant aimed at increasing the number of minoritized women faculty in Engineering.

Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the well-being and achievement of immigrant youth in the U.S. A dedicated advocate for student success, she has received several awards, including the Don Dorsey Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2013), the SACNAS Outstanding University Mentor Award (2020), and CSUN’s Outstanding Faculty Award (2021).

Mirranda Salas received her Master of Arts degree in General-Experimental Psychology from CSUN in 2011 and has worked on grant-funded research programs for the past 15 years. In the Office of Undergraduate Research, Mirranda is in charge of the finances and logistics that keep OUR running smoothly, as well as providing a friendly face if you stop by the OUR main office in University Library 27.