María Elena Torre

María Elena Torre is the founding director of The Public Science Project at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York where she is on the doctoral faculties of Critical Social Psychology and Urban Education. A queer mama of a very cool teenager, she has been engaged in critical participatory action research nationally and internationally with communities in neighborhoods, schools, prisons, and community-based organizations for over 25 years. María has written extensively about how decolonizing methodologies, radical inclusion, and a praxis of solidarity can inform a participatory public science that supports movements for transformation and justice. She serves on the editorial boards of Awry: Journal of Critical Psychology and the Review of General Psychology. With the Public Science Project, she leads annual summer CPAR Institutes that bring together graduate students, faculty and community workers to learn alongside each other about the history, theory, methods, and ethics of critical participatory action research. María also facilitates CPAR with government agencies as a way to integrate meaningful community participation and leadership, and spark transitions from providing services to supporting community self-determination. Her recent book, The Essentials of Critical Participatory Action Research (2021), was published by APA Press.