Kevin Ferreira Van Leer

Kevin Ferreira van Leer (UWC Costa Rica ’09), is an Assistant Professor of Child & Adolescent Development at California State University, Sacramento. His research examines the social and cultural contexts that promote positive development and liberation for immigrants of color and their families with an emphasis on how contexts influence the educational and caregiving experiences of Latinx immigrant families. As an educator, he believes that students are agents of their learning process with the ability to articulate developmental and psychological processes, integrating them both within their own lives, and the larger relevant historical, institutional or policy contexts. The classroom offers a space to critically examine empirical findings and theoretical concepts in the field of psychology within the larger contexts of our communities. Kevin currently oversees experiential learning opportunities for students in the Child and Adolescent Development program at CSU Sacramento, facilitating opportunities for students to foster connections between theory and practice. This work is part of larger efforts supporting community-university partnerships that center equity, and community voice. 

As an alumnus of United World College Costa Rica, Kevin's passions for community-led positive change, human rights, and positive development were solidified and greatly reinforced. He notes UWC CR  as the most democratic community he has been a part of -  that always strives to address conflicts that arise, continually combines theory and practice, and interrogates the meanings of equity, dignity, rights, and respect. Without the incredible mentors he had on campus, the tremendous community that was built, and the safety to fail and be guided to learn from those failures, Kevin would be in a different place. It is for these reasons he continues to be a passionate member of the UWC Costa Rica community and is honored to be a part of the Board.