Dr. Ignacio Acevedo-Polakovich

CLS Affiliation: CLS Core Faculty 

Position Title: Associate Professor of Psychology 

College and Department: College of Social Science and Department of Psychology  

Areas of Expertise: health and human service equity (particularly for youth); educational equity and justice (particularly in public education); community-engaged and participatory research methods

How do you keep yourself centered? 

I spend time practicing mindfulness. I make sure to keep family time sacrosanct. I am deeply engaged with my three hobbies: photography, the outdoors (backpacking, climbing, etc.), and fitness. 

What advice/tips/consejos would you give students in terms of navigating school? 

Have grace with yourself. These are difficult times. 

When not teaching, doing research, and/or preparing coursework, what do you like to do for fun or relaxation? 

Playing with my kids. Taking pictures (I do it mostly for pleasure, but also do shoot commercially from time to time). Engaging in, or planning, my next outdoor adventure. 

What (or who) inspires you? 

I don't think she knows this, but the words of my friend Jessica Estévez are what my brain often turns to when I need strength or inspiration. Yesi is a tremendously wise human who has this incredible ability to be fierce, fearless, and kind at the same time. You can read more about her work at https://estrategiagroup.com/about-us/ 

What classes do you generally teach? 

Practicum in Community-engaged Research

Advanced topics in community psychology

Research and Evaluation of Services and Supports for Youth

Anything else you would like to share with students and the CLS community?

One of my favorite professional activities is mentoring the students who are involved in the projects that I work in. Classroom teaching has a very important role in learning, but the skills of transformation need to be established and refined in practice. In other words, the best learning happens by engaging with real world problems, striving to solve them, and learning from whatever outcomes come out of that striving. I absolutely treasure being able to support students who are learning in this manner. 

Dr. Acevedo-Polakovich’s most up to date scholarship is available through his ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ignacio_Acevedo-Polakovich