Dr. Danielle Parada is an Afroindigenous scholar born and raised in Virginia with roots in San Miguel, El Salvador. She earned her doctoral degree from George Mason University in Applied Developmental Psychology (a field focused on studying developmental processes from the vantage point of solving real-world problems or studying development in contexts), where she studied the long-term academic trajectories of immigrant students in Miami-Dade County. Additionally, she was the first Salvadoran to be awarded the prestigious Pre-Doctoral State Policy Fellowship through the Society for Research in Child Development. Currently, Dr. Parada is a community advocate for canton El Brazo, a rural indigenous community in San Miguel, where she raises support for medical, educational, and housing needs for community members.