Assistant Professor Department of Psychological Sciences Science & Learning Center 350C 562.907.4283 mmesinas@whittier.edu
Ph.D., Stanford University B.A., Scripps College
Melissa Mesinas is a second-generation Zoochileña from Santiago Zoochila, Oaxaca and part of the Oaxacan diaspora living in the United States. She received her Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Developmental and Psychological Sciences from Stanford University. Her research focuses on the social and cultural contexts of learning, especially the ones of Indigenous Latine communities. She has worked closely with Oaxacan children, adolescents, and parents in California for over 15 years. Professor Mesinas collaborates with local Indigenous communities and districts on educational opportunities, the preservation of arts and culture, and intergenerational learning. She is a board member of the Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), a non-profit organization that serves and empowers the Indigenous migrant communities in California’s Central Coast.
Mesinas, M. & Casanova, S. (2023). The Value of Communal and Intergenerational Settings for Studying Social and Emotional Learning. Child Development Perspectives 17(4), 122-128. Kovats Sánchez, G., Mesinas, M., Casanova, S., Barillas Chón, D., & Pentón Herrera, L. J. (2022). Creating Positive Learning Communities for Diasporic Indigenous Students. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Casanova, S., Mesinas, M., & Martinez, S. (2021). Cultural Knowledge as Empowerment: Learning and development for Indigenous Mexican youth. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 1-15. Goldman, S., Kuo, A. C., Pozos, R. K., Mesinas, M., & Lange, K. (2020). Empowering Teachers through Design Thinking: Developing Learning Prototypes for Multilingual Students. RChD: creación y pensamiento. 5(8), 37-48. Martínez, R. A., & Mesinas, M. (2019). Linguistic Motherwork in the Zapotec Diaspora: Zapoteca Mothers’ Perspectives on Indigenous Language Maintenance. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 13(2), 122-144. Urrieta Jr, L., Mesinas, M., & Martínez, R. A. (2019). Critical Latinx Indigeneities and Education: An Introduction. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 13(2), 1-14. Mesinas, M., & Pérez, W. (2016). Cultural Involvement, Indigenous Identity, and Language: An Exploratory Study of Zapotec Adolescents and Their Parents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 38(4), 482-506.
2025 Mellon StoryLab Faculty Award for Research, Whittier College 2024 Mellon StoryLab Faculty Award for Curriculum Development, Whittier College 2024 Mellon StoryLab Faculty Award for Research, Whittier College 2020 Stanford Community Impact Award, Stanford Alumni Association 2016 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship 2013 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award
