Vera Lopez

Vera Lopez is a Women & Gender Studies professor and Associate Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University (ASU). She earned her doctorate in educational psychology (school/clinical child) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Lopez applies a critical lens to understand how Latina girls' intersecting social positions shape their experiences within youth institutions, such as juvenile justice, residential treatment, and school settings. Notable publications include her books "Complicated Lives: Girls, Parents, Drugs, and Juvenile Justice" and "Latinas in the Criminal Justice System: Victims, Targets, and Offenders"--the latter co-edited with Dr. Lisa Pasco. Dr. Lopez's recent research projects include a youth participatory action research project with system-impacted girls, funded by the Spencer Foundation, and a project on Latina girls and sports, funded by the ASU Global Sport Institute. Dr. Lopez is also the co-editor of Feminist Criminology and associate editor of Sociology Compass.