Gladys Aguilar is a PhD student in the Human Development, Teaching and Learning concentration. Her research focus involves Latino children’s first and second language acquisition and its relation to early literacy. Additionally, she is interested in the impact of bilingualism on minority children’s cognitive, socio-emotional, and language development and the role of parents and teachers in this development. With a B.S. from Loyola Marymount University and an M.S. from Cal State L.A., Gladys served children and families in vulnerable communities as a bilingual mental health professional in preK-6 educational settings. She coordinated various school-wide programs, including the California Department of Mental Health Primary Intervention Program. After earning her multiple-subject teaching credential and BCLAD (Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language and Academic Development) certification, she taught in urban school districts serving primarily language minority children. In the Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Gladys is involved in a project unraveling the link between classroom discourse and adolescent literacy.