Cecilia Menjívar, PhD
Professor of Sociology, University of California-Los Angeles
Areas of Expertise: Immigration, Gender, Family Dynamics, Social Networks, Religious Institutions, Violence
Cecilia Menjívar is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and holds the Dorothy L. Meier Chair in Social Equities at UCLA. Her research falls into two areas: immigration from Central America to the United States and gender-based violence in Central America, connected through a focus on state power manifested in laws, justice systems, and bureaucracies. She has authored three award-winning books, edited 17 volumes, and published over 150 articles, chapters, and essays. She has received awards for her scholarship, mentorship, and public sociology, including two American Sociological Association (ASA) career awards, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, and was named a Social Justice Hero by the Museum of Social Justice in Los Angeles. She has served as Vice-President of the ASA (2012-2015) and as its President (2021-2022). With her scholarship, Menjívar has provided pro bono expertise and research evidence for dozens of asylum cases and several class action lawsuits seeking to reverse harmful policies for immigrants.
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