A product of the California community college system, Erika N. Orozco, M.A., is the current Research Assistant for the California Medicine Scholars Program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in natural science, and master’s degree in Experimental Psychology at California State University, Fullerton. During her master’s program her focus areas were quantitative analysis, cognition, and twin research methodology. While completing her master’s she worked as an academic advisor for a diverse range of undergraduate psychology students where she developed a passion for facilitating student success in higher education, and later as an academic advisor for non-traditional and first-generation students at the University of Massachusetts Global.

Prior to this position, she worked as a lab manager at Loyola Marymount University for the statewide evaluation of the California Reducing Disparities Project, a PEI program addressing public health inequity by implementing culturally responsive mental health programming for historically underserved populations. She also played lead and supportive roles in various research and evaluation projects for human services programs serving historically underrepresented populations, applying mixed-methods research and prioritizing community-based participatory practice. As a research associate for the University of Denver, she led the evaluation of a capacity building program tailored to support culturally responsive and trauma-informed service delivery for tribal child welfare agencies across the United States. Today, her applied research interests include triangulating research methods to best evaluate programs addressing inequities in public health, education, child welfare, and economic mobility.