About Us
We spent our childhood and teen years in low-income, marginalized, ethnic minority communities in Los Angeles, navigating systemic inequities and advocating for change. Raised in an era where adolescent voices were often overlooked, our experiences shape our clinical perspective today. We value and and amplify teen voices, guiding our research to directly involve adolescents.
We take pride in being one of the few research labs in the United States that collaborates with teenagers in both academic and clinical studies, fostering a deeper understanding of adolescent experiences.
Meet The Authors
Dr. Debra Moreno Garcia, PhD
Debra Garcia, PhD, is a faculty member in the psychology department at California State University, Los Angeles. She has worked with children, adolescents, and their families for more than twenty-five years in clinical and research settings. Garcia’s adolescent stress and wellness research at CSULA focuses on dimensions of adolescent stress, generational communication patterns, family well-being, and mental health advocacy. She also conducts psychometric research for the development of psychosocial stress assessments authenticated by the voice of teens and college students. Garcia is a community leader, speaker, and advocate for healthy neighborhoods and infrastructure systems for marginalized youth with minority status.
Wilson Ho, MFT
Wilson Ho, MFT, is a Marriage and Family Therapist working at Para Los Niños, a community mental health organization dedicated to helping marginalized community members navigate through mental health support and providing therapeutic services to children, families, and adults. Ho is also part of a research lab with Debra Moreno Garcia for the past four years that helped promote the advocacy and empowerment in amplifying the voices of teenagers and establishing equality in parent-child relationships. Wilson is also part of the Los Angeles chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists’ Mentorship program to share about his experiences and support other marriage and family therapists in their journey of healing for both oneself and others.