Biography
Maritza Morales-Gracia is a first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Education with specializations in Human Development in Context (HDiC) and Education Policy and Social Context (EPSC).
Maritza earned her master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and received dual Bachelor's in Psychology and Human Development (Child Development Emphasis) from California State University, San Bernardino. She has previously worked as a researcher within the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone Medical Center, The National Center for Children and Families, and the Neurocognition, Early Experience, and Development (NEED) Lab.
Throughout the course of her academic career she has worked on various projects examining relationships between socioeconomic status, family resources, parenting, and child development. In order to connect with both academics and community members she has presented Latinx focused research at various conferences like the National Research Conference on Early Childhood and has spoken on panels at summits like the Latino Education Advocacy Days.
These experiences and her own bicultural/bilingual upbringing have led her to pursue her PhD and further develop the skills needed to effectively advocate for—and inform evidence-based family policies as a means to lessen-poverty related disparities in child development outcomes, with a focus on Latinx families. You can follow her journey here.
July 2018
Maritza Morales-Gracia is a first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Education with specializations in Human Development in Context (HDiC) and Education Policy and Social Context (EPSC).
Maritza earned her master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and received dual Bachelor's in Psychology and Human Development (Child Development Emphasis) from California State University, San Bernardino. She has previously worked as a researcher within the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone Medical Center, The National Center for Children and Families, and the Neurocognition, Early Experience, and Development (NEED) Lab.
Throughout the course of her academic career she has worked on various projects examining relationships between socioeconomic status, family resources, parenting, and child development. In order to connect with both academics and community members she has presented Latinx focused research at various conferences like the National Research Conference on Early Childhood and has spoken on panels at summits like the Latino Education Advocacy Days.
These experiences and her own bicultural/bilingual upbringing have led her to pursue her PhD and further develop the skills needed to effectively advocate for—and inform evidence-based family policies as a means to lessen-poverty related disparities in child development outcomes, with a focus on Latinx families. You can follow her journey here.
July 2018
