Andrea Lopez Salazar conducts research on advising and student support services among first-generation college students. She is pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Bilingual Latinx Mental Health at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Lopez Salazar’s interests focus on first-generation college students of Latin American backgrounds, including college access and success, the promotion of mental health and prevention of psychological risk, intercultural understanding and cultural brokering, and culturally relevant counseling, teaching, and research.
Lopez Salazar has a background in nonprofit management and teaching. She began her career in Stamford, CT, where she managed mentoring, tutoring, and service-learning programs for students in the city’s public school system. Additionally, Lopez Salazar worked as a site director with Let’s Get Ready, a student-led, volunteer-run organization that works to expand access to college for low-income high school students. Later on, she co-founded and led the organization’s first young professional board. Lopez Salazar’s proficiency in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese inspired her to expand her career into teaching. She has taught and tutored English language learners from all over the world, leveraging her language skills to connect with and support her students effectively.
Lopez Salazar holds an EdM in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and earned a BA in human development and family studies with a minor in women’s studies from the University of Connecticut. Lopez Salazar also holds a certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) from Teachers College, Columbia University.
