Ashley M. Lopez, M.A.

About Ashley

Ashley Lopez holds a B.A. in Psychology with Honors and an M.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University, where she also completed minors in Social Work and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Before joining the CREAR Lab, she served as a Project Coordinator at NYU’s West Interpersonal Perception Lab.

Her research examines how mentoring and social support shape academic, professional, and psychological outcomes among minoritized individuals. She is particularly interested in understanding how supportive relationships, belonging, and institutional systems influence equity in education and the workplace.

Ashley plans to pursue a Ph.D. focused on community-engaged research, structural inequities, and culturally responsive mentoring programs that promote thriving among historically excluded communities.

Research Interests

• Mentorship and social support in educational and workplace settings
• Barriers and facilitators of belonging for minoritized communities
• Social identity, discrimination, and well-being
• Organizational and interpersonal processes that influence equity

Under Review

• Adame Montelongo, E. S., Lopez, A. M., Martinez, A., and Medrano, A. S. (under review). Financial stress and mental health: Anxiety and loneliness among racially diverse international and domestic students.

Presentations and Workshops

• Lopez, A. M., Dupree, G., and Medrano, A. S. (2025, July). Cuando el Amor Deja Heridas: Relaciones Sentimentales y sus Consecuencias Emocionales. Interactive psychoeducational workshop series delivered to women across ten municipalities in Santa Barbara, Honduras.
• Medrano, A. S., and Lopez, A. M. (2025, April). Primeros Auxilios en Investigaciones Informadas por el Trauma. Trauma-informed research workshop delivered to Centro de Derechos de Mujeres in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
• Lopez, A. M. and Estrada, Y. (2025, February). Analyzing qualitative data. Guest lecture for undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh.