Curriculum Vitae
Education
2022 Ph.D., Ethnic Studies, University of California-Berkeley
Dissertation: “Con Sueños Que Ya Son Viejos: How Aging Latino
Immigrants Confront Inequality in Later Life”
Committee: Lok Siu, Cristina Mora, Ulla Berg, Christian Paiz
2014 M.A., Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley
2012 B.A., Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies, Rutgers University
Recognition: Summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa
Minors: American Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies
Selected Honors & Awards
FELLOWSHIPS
2022-2023 César Chávez Postdoctoral Fellowship, Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies
Program, Dartmouth College
2021-2022 César Chávez Dissertation Fellowship, Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies
Program, Dartmouth College
2021-2022 New York University (NYU), Faculty First Look Program in the Arts and Sciences.
2021-2022 Global Health Fellow, The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding,
Dartmouth College and Geisel School of Medicine Center for Health Equity
2021-2022 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in Latino Studies, School for Advanced Research,
Santa Fe, NM (declined)
2021 Future Faculty Career Exploration Fellowship, Rochester Institute of Technology
2021 Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research (MCUAAAR) Summer
Mentoring Workshop for Advanced Doctoral Students in Latinx Studies
2020-2021 Dissertation Fellowship, Ford Foundation
2020-2021 Graduate Fellowship, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley
2018-2021 Fellowship, Center for Race and Gender, UC Berkeley
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2021 Behavioral and Social Sciences Section- Student Registration Award, Gerontological
Society of America (GSA)
2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, Ethnic Studies Department, UC Berkeley
2019 Travel Research Award, Graduate Assembly, UC Berkeley
2019 Research Grant, Center for Race and Gender, UC Berkeley
2018 Future Faculty Development Program Awardee, Sociology Department, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University
2017 Second Place, Emerging Scholars Poster Competition, International Conference on Aging in the Americas
Publications
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2022 "Age-Friendly as Tranquilo Ambiente: How Cultural Perspectives Shape Older Latinos’ Lived Environment," The Gerontologist, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab137
[Spanish Version for Research Participants to Read]
2021 "‘I don’t have much money, but I have a lot of friends’: How Poor Older Latinos Find Tangible Support in Peer Friendship Networks," Social Problems, https://academic.oup.com/socpro/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/socpro/spab081/6490177
BOOK CHAPTERS
" ‘La Iglesia Es Mi Comunidad’: A Union City Latinx Destination From Arrival to Old Age," in Latino New Jersey, edited by Ulla Dalum Berg and Aldo Lauria Santiago (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press), forthcoming.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES
2019 "Antonio Ibarria (1935-) and El Especialito (Union City, NJ) (1985)," in Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders, edited by Jessica Lavariega Monforti (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO), 172-173.
2019 "Robert ‘Bob’ Menendez (1954-)," in Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders, edited by Jessica Lavariega Monforti (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO), 319-320.
REVIEWS
2017 Review of Theresa Delgadillo, Latina Lives in Milwaukee, in Latino Studies 15, no. 3 (Fall) : 386-388.
PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP
2022 Melanie Z. Plasencia, "Accounting for the Diverse Experiences of Older Immigrants in Today's America," Generations Today, American Society on Aging, March 23rd.
2022 Melanie Z. Plasencia, "Writing Your Graduate Fellowship/Grant Application," Inside Higher Ed, March 29th.
2021 Julia Sizek with Isabel G. Valdivia and Melanie Z. Plasencia, "Addressing Latinx Social inequality in Later Life." Written interview. Social Science Matrix, December 10th.
OTHER WRITING
2011 "Why Latinas Do IT: A Qualitative Exploration of Women in Information Technology," NCUR Conference Research Proceedings for University of North Carolina, (Spring).
MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS
"Reimagining Care for Latinx Senior Survival" (article draft available upon request)
"Ethnic Older Adults and Technology in the Age of the Pandemic" (written piece available upon request)