AKIRA GUTIERREZ RENZULLI, Ph.D., M.S., M.A.
Applied Psychological Science, Youth Mental Health & Wellbeing
Welcome
THE LATEST
On July 25, 2025, I successfully defended my dissertation, Educators’ Perspectives and Practices for Fostering BELONGING in the Upper Elementary Classroom, at Florida International University.
It has been a privilege and an honor to be training under the mentorship of Dr. Stacy L. Frazier at FIU as we explored public health approaches to promoting youth mental wellness. My dissertation explored school-based approaches to promoting student wellbeing, namely by elevating student sense of belonging and integrating a multi-tiered suicide prevention framework in schools to improve student mental and emotional well-being. My colleagues and I look forward to sharing our findings in upcoming publications. Many, many thanks to the mentors, friends, families, and colleagues who have provided invaluable support and encouragement through this process. I am especially grateful to the educators who generously shared their wisdom with us and made this work possible!
HELLO!
Welcome to my website! I am a research scientist specializing in applied youth psychology. I draw from my research and applied experiences with child development, social-emotional and behavioral skills development, and mental health wellness and prevention to collaborate with organizations, schools, and districts across the U.S. to support their learning and implementation efforts around early childhood initiatives, social-emotional, culturally responsive, trauma-informed practices to benefit educators, students, and families.
I hold advanced degrees in developmental and child clinical psychology and am currently completing my doctoral degree in psychology. My research interests include learning about youth’s experiences with adversity, resilience, and sense of belonging and how we can promote student and educator wellbeing in schools. Ultimately, I hope to continue working in community with others to create healthy and supportive environments that promote mental and emotional wellbeing for youth from different backgrounds, identities, and abilities.
You can learn more about my work by browsing this site. Thank you for being here!
