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Fernanda L. Cross is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She holds a Master of Social Work and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the same institution. Her research program employs a strength-based approach to examine the cultural factors within families that promote healthy development and mitigate risks associated with poor psychological and educational outcomes among Latinx adolescents and their families. Notably, her work focuses on the impact of undocumented status on family processes and adolescent outcomes. Cross is particularly interested in the protective effects of ethnic-racial socialization and identity development. Her methodologies are diverse, utilizing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches, informed by her personal experiences within the Latinx immigrant community for over a decade. In her role, she actively advocates for immigrant rights and provides interpretation services in Portuguese and Spanish. Cross’s research interests include Latinx mixed-status families, the experiences of undocumented immigrants, ethnic-racial socialization, discrimination experiences, and the mental health and academic outcomes of adolescents.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science