Tatiana Pumaccahua
Assistant Professor, Psychology, College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences
About Me
Dr. Tatiana Pumaccahua is a proud first-generation Indigenous Latina and a product of the California State University system. She was born and raised in Lima, Peru before immigrating to the US at the age of 12. She obtained her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Child Development from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). She attributes the mentorship, supportive environment, and academic enrichment programs at CSUSB (e.g., Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program, Educational Opportunity Program, Student Assistance in Learning, and the Minority Access to Research Careers) as being key to influencing her decision to pursue a doctorate degree and a career in academia. She received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Rhode Island in 2018 and completed a 2-year APA-Accredited Child Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles from 2018-2020. As of 2023, she also became a licensed psychologist in the state of California. Her various personal, academic, and clinical experiences have shaped both her clinical and research interests. She is passionate about providing and increasing access to quality mental health for children and families from underserved backgrounds, as well as increasing access to higher education, especially for underrepresented students. In terms of research, she is interested in socioemotional learning prevention and intervention programs, school-based mental health, fostering trauma-aware approaches in higher education, parent education, and the cultural adaptation of evidence-based practices by utilizing creative methods (e.g., through games, pedagogic strategies).