Rising Stars: Meet Dr. Maria Espinola

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Maria Espinola.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Argentina during a military dictatorship, which ended when I was still very young. Learning about the trauma that people experienced during the dictatorship led me to become a human rights advocate. My advocacy for trauma survivors was initially focused on public education. I began writing for a newspaper at age 10 and had a radio show at 12. Everybody, including myself, thought I was going to pursue journalism as a career. I later chose psychology because I wanted to directly help survivors of violence heal from their trauma.

I came to the U.S. at 20 years old. My experiences as an immigrant led me to gain a better understanding of how people who belong to minority groups and other vulnerable populations are treated. Confronting discrimination and lack of resources allowed me to connect to people who were in similar situations and inspired me to pursue my studies in psychology with a focus on multicultural issues and trauma. I earned my doctorate in psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I completed my pre-doctoral fellowship in multicultural psychology at Boston University School of Medicine and my postdoctoral fellowship on women’s issues and trauma psychology at Harvard Medical School.

For the last 10 years, I have been focused on educating the public, offering direct care to trauma survivors and helping organizations drive changes that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. Imagine being 20 years old and arriving alone, with 500 dollars, to a country where you have never been before, without even knowing how to speak the language. I had to teach myself English using a dictionary, closed captioned television and a highlighter. I would write down the words I couldn’t understand, look them up in the dictionary during commercial breaks, and highlight each new word I learned.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a psychologist, executive coach and consultant. I’m known for promoting health equity through innovative strategies, public health promotion, public policy and systemic changes.

What sets me apart is my focus on the intersection of multicultural issues, trauma-informed strategies and integrated healthcare. I bring a unique, much needed perspective to organizations that are looking to implement innovative and cost-effective DEI strategies. I have a record of successful collaboration with leaders across universities, Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations and the three branches of government

I’m proud to share that my work has been recognized with over 25 honors and awards for leadership, diversity initiatives, community impact and health innovation. My work has also been featured by a wide range of media outlets, including the U.S. News and World Report, Reuters Health, Teen Vogue and CNN.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Number 1: Don’t reject yourself. Too many people don’t even approach potential mentors because they assume they’ll be rejected.

Number 2: Go prepared. Spend time learning about the people you want as mentors before approaching them.

Number 3: If you do get rejected, don’t take it personally and move on to the next one on your list.

In this video, two of my former mentees (now colleagues) and I explained more details about how to find mentors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md8cLWDiKc4&t=1s

Contact Info:

• Email: info@drmariaespinola.com
• Website: https://www.drmariaespinola.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmariaespinola/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMariaEspinola
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMariaEspinola
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrMariaEspinola