Colibrí Research Collective at ALAS
Telling the story of our community through research
ALAS Colibrí is a participatory center dedicated to engaging community voices to confront health disparities, structural trauma, and strengths rooted in cultural identity within marginalized communities, particularly those impacted by immigration. We look at statistical data but also a range of sources of qualitative input to understand the effects of systemic injustices on individuals' lives, and forms of resistance and resilience. We use a participatory, action-oriented, and strengths-based approach. Our team comprises community members as well as researchers from esteemed institutions such as Stanford, the University of San Francisco, and UC Irvine, in addition to ALAS staff and community members.
Community Advisory Board
Colibrí is community-based
and community-led.
Colibrí is centered around our Community Advisory Board (CAB), and researchers report to the CAB Chair to guide research-related programming and decisions. The CAB is a group of community members who provide leadership by creating priorities, selecting collaborations and methods, and strengthening relationships between researchers and the community. We are currently in a phase of training in participatory action research methods and agenda-setting for Colibrí.
CAB Chair: Rocio Avila
CAB Coordinator: Juan Carlos Ruiz-Malagon
Areas of Interest
Cultura Cura: Cultural arts as healing interventions
Immigrant youth mental health
Social-structural drivers of farmworker health and social disparities
Community-centered behavioral health care
Immigration-related stress, trauma and strengths
Structural violence
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)
Research as advocacy
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Featured Projects
Other Projects
Collaborators
ALAS is building a multi-disciplinary coalition of researchers and change-makers working at the intersection of health disparities, structural trauma, cultural wealth, and cultural identity among marginalized and racialized communities, particularly those with links to immigration journeys.