Liza Hita

Liza Hita relationally explores the sociocultural imaginary as a decolonial and liberatory scholar committed to ecological care. She is a clinical associate professor of psychology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at New College and an affiliated scientist with the Research and Education Advancing Children's Health (REACH) Institute. 

Liza engages in community-based participatory research focused on the dissemination and implementation of preventive interventions for families experiencing major life transitions, including high-conflict families (Family Transitions Guide), separating and divorced parents (New Beginnings Program), bereaved caregivers (Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families), and families impacted by incarceration (Caring for the Caregivers). She also studies community-led cultural program adaptation processes, integrating them into her current research and practice on the online administration and cultural resonance of evidence-based parenting interventions with a focus on sustainable community ownership. Her most recent exploration, Wayfinding Grief, focuses on cultural bereavement and ecological grief with Indigenous communities experiencing geocultural loss. Liza is a Climate and Community Hub co-visioner, foregrounding Indigenous perspectives in climate science. She also directs the Families in Transition Co(Lab), which focuses on stories of caregiving and resilience in the face of change, centering relationship-building and the lived experiences of the people she serves.

Her community work addresses health disparities through culturally restorative, holistic practices that provide full-spectrum lifespan support (pregnancy and adoption, family transitions, death care, and continuing bonds), going at the pace of trust. She is also a student of Batok/Patik, the traditional tattooing practice of pre-colonial Philippines. Liza works in Perryville Women's Prison alongside Indigenous womxn doing cultural programming with A Good Relative, a group she co-created to provide venues for idea incubation, resource sharing, and collective dreaming. 

Liza's ASU service has included serving as a Dean's fellow for New College; as associate director of academic programs and director of digital innovation and inclusion for the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and as director of the digital-immersion psychology BA/BS program. She was a Universal Learner fellow, partnering in the wide-scale dissemination of multidimensional courses accessible to everyone beyond ASU, and a Study Hall content creator. She also served as the faculty co-lead for the DEI Core of the Maternal Child Health Translational Research Team in the College of Health Solutions. She is a past president of the ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus and an inaugural member of the New College Anti-Racism Council (NewARC).