CESPYD Welcomes Prof. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar & Prof. Fabricio Balcazar

CESPYD welcomes Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar and Fabricio Balcazar from the University of Illinois Chicago, Community Psychologists with international recognition for the contributions in advocating and empowerment for the rights, health and well-being of Latinx immigrant families in Chicago and youth with disabilities of color.

Both professors have a long history of collaboration with CESPYD, fostering international collaboration through internships, co-direction of doctoral dissertations and a series of publications shared with several members of our team. The most recent being Promoting justice through community-based research: International case studies. Click here to read more.

Dr. Suarez-Balcazar is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, affiliate faculty in Disability and Human Development and the Department of Psychology. She is Co-Principal Investigator on the PODER project which aims to promote the health and well-being of Latina caregivers of children with disabilities, through the support of “promotoras.”

Dr. Balcazar, a professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development, is the Principal Investigator of EYD: Jobs for youth: a partnership to promote employment of inner-city youth with disabilities that fosters entrepreneurship of youth with disabilities in the U.S.A. Learn more here.

Both research projects, PODER and EYD are funded by the U.S. Department of Education, NIDILRR.