At Sin Fronteras Lab, our team brings together diverse perspectives and skills to create impactful solutions for global challenges.
Meet the Team Behind Our Mission
Principal Investigator
Dr. Fernanda Lima Cross
Dr. Fernanda Lima Cross: Dr. Cross is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Her research utilizes a strength-based approach to examining family and cultural factors that promote healthy development and mitigate the risk of poor psychological and educational outcomes for Latinx adolescents and families. She is particularly interested in examining the role of discrimination and undocumented status on the physical and mental health of Latinx immigrants and their adolescents. Her projects have examined the Ethnic-racial Socialization (ERS) messages and sociopolitical discussions that undocumented Latinx immigrant parents have with their adolescents, including the role that parental involvement in immigrant rights organizations plays in their socialization practices and on youth outcome and the impact that such ERS messages have on youth’s mental health. Dr. Cross’ is working to translate her research into culturally sensitive, community-based interventions to support the mental health and increase access to treatment for Latinx youth from mixed status families. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Michigan Health Endowment Foundation, and UM’s National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID). She has been the recipient of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award and the SRCD Latinx Caucus Dissertation Award. She has also been named an Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellow from the UM NCID. Dr. Cross is Consulting Editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence, as well as reviewer for several developmental and social work journals and conferences. To inform her research, Dr. Cross utilizes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies. Her work is rooted in community-based participatory research methods, and she draws on not only her personal experience as a Latinx immigrant but also her two decades of involvement in the Latinx immigrant community of Michigan as both an advocate and a Portuguese/Spanish interpreter. She graduated with a double major in psychology and sociology from the University of Michigan then went on to receive an MSW from the School of Social Work and a PhD in Developmental Psychology also from UM.
Irving (he/him/él) is a Master of Public Health student in Health Behavior & Health Education at the University of Michigan. With a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Biology from Goshen College, he has been part of various research projects on topics centering on Latine immigrant health. His research interests focus on loneliness and social isolation within the Latine community.
Joel Lucio (he/him/él), LMSW graduated with his MSW from the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work in December 2020. Broadly, his research interests include ethnic-racial, political, and gender socialization, exploring themes of identity formation, civic engagement, and critical consciousness development. Joel also works as a mental health therapist, serving marginalized and Spanish-speaking communities. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Joel earned his BA from the University of Texas at Austin. In his free time, Joel enjoys playing video games, reading, and weightlifting.
Zach (he/him/él) is pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of Michigan. He is a Graduate Research Assistant with the Sin Fronteras Lab and works with the Policy, Engagement, and Communications team at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC). He earned his Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Portland in 2021 and has experience in immigrant and refugee services that include teaching, case management, and labor rights advocacy. His research interests include community-based approaches to understanding policy impacts on immigrant and refugee youth education outcomes. Zach is dedicated to creating lasting change for immigrant and refugee communities through collaborative advocacy and action.
Saraí Blanco Martinez: Saraí (she/ella), MSW, is a 6th year doctoral candidate in the University of Michigan in the Combined Program in Education & Psychology (CPEP). Her research focuses on supporting the healing efforts from race and ethnicity based trauma, and supporting the overall wellbeing of Latinx immigrant communities. Outside of research, she is a tia, a dog mom, and loves spending time in nature.
Amanda is a Master of Social Work student at the University of Michigan, studying in the Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse pathway.
Collaborators working together to advance research, empower Latinx youth, and strengthen family well-being.
Academic Collaborators
Kenneth Resnicow, PhD
Dr. Resnicow is a globally recognized expert in health behavior and health equity with over 35 years of experience designing and evaluating behavior change programs across diverse public health settings working with researchers in over 25 countries, and training more than 1,000 professionals in motivational interviewing and technology-driven health interventions.#
Gaby Livas Stein, PhD
Dr. Stein’s research attempts to identify individual, familial, and cultural processes that promote positive development and mitigate risk for minoritized youth, with a focus on immigrant and Latine populations. Her work also uses community-engaged approaches to develop and test prevention and intervention programs that address the mental health and cultural needs of minoritized youth and their families.
Joseph Himle, PhD
Dr. Himle’s research interests focus on mental health intervention research with adults and youth. Himle’s intervention projects include treatment development projects focused on bringing cognitive behavioral therapy to underserved populations.
Erica Marsh, MD
Dr. Marsh is Associate Director of the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR), and the Division Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Marsh’s community-engaged research program spans the translational, clinical care, and community-engaged spaces.
Jennie Jester, PhD
Dr. Jester has extensive experience performing the analyses of multiple Randomized Control Trials. She has evaluated the effects of interventions for young children and families using linear mixed modeling, survival analysis and Bayesian analysis.
Barbara Israel, DrPH
Dr. Israel is Professor Emerita in Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan. She has extensive experience conducting community-based participatory research in collaboration with partners in diverse communities. She has published widely in the areas of social and physical environmental determinants of health and health inequities, the relationship among stress, social support, control and physical and mental health, and community-based participatory research (CBPR).
Community Collaborators
Buenos Vecinos
Buenos Vecinos is a community-based organization in Washtenaw County whose mission is supporting well-being, fostering community empowerment and connection, advocating for systems that promote equity and inclusion, and actively engaging Latinx families to ensure they have the support they need to thrive.
Washtenaw Health Project
Washtenaw Health Project helps low-income and uninsured people access high-quality healthcare and health-promoting services. They offer support, education, and resources to connect more people in the community with the healthcare they need.
Amplify Colectivo
Amplify Colectivo is a collective of mental health therapists who support the growth of people, organizations, and communities by providing culturally-sensitive mental health services, supervision for early-career mental health professionals, consultation, and training services to amplify mental health knowledge among local businesses and organizations.
Packard Health
Packard Health is a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that delivers exceptional patient-centered care to residents of Washtenaw County through high-quality, affordable primary care and mental health care, as well as by offering a range of integrated support services. They care for patients at every stage of life and believe that everyone (with or without insurance coverage) deserves access to health care.
CHASS
Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) committed to the well-being of the community by promoting and providing accessible, comprehensive, affordable, and inclusive quality patient care and support services. CHASS offers a comprehensive and holistic approach where patients can get the support they need in one place.
