Campus Directory

Division Social Sciences Division

Department/ College/ Unit Psychology Department

Title Graduate Student

Graduate Major Social Psychology

Affiliation Graduate

Web Site

Primary Office Location Social Sciences 2
206

Office Hours for Students/ Office Hours Mondays 1-2 pm

Mail Stop Psychology Faculty Services

Biography, Education and Training

I'm a Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at UCSC working with Dr. Saskias Casanova in the Migration, Identity, and Education Lab! I conduct social justice-oriented, community-engaged, and participatory research. Specifically, I am interested in issues related to Latine/x populations that promote transformative education, psychological well-being, and overall health. I am Central American, a hijx immigrant, and a first-generation college student born and raised in the Bay Area, CA. I double-majored in Psychology and Latino/a Studies at San Francisco State University, where I also pursued an M.A. in Psychology with a graduate certificate in Ethnic Studies. My worldview and research interests are informed by interdisciplinary perspectives, critical theories, and practices. 

In addition, I serve multiple roles at UCSC to help foster community and belonging for graduate students. I'm a Grad Writing Mentor for The Sluggish Writers Collective, a Grad Writing Mentor for the Rebellious Chingone Writers for Liberation, and a Grad Committee Board Member for the First-Gen Graduate Initiative. 

Research Interests

Latine/x populations, adolescents, young adults, colorism, race/ethnicity, education, well-being, health, sexual health, substance use, intersectionality, liberation psychology, community-engaged research (CER), participatory action research (PAR), youth participatory action research (YPAR), Chicana/Latina feminisms

Teaching Interests

Courses I have been a Teaching Assistant for:

• Community Psychology
• Qualitative Psychology
• PSYC Research Methods
• LALS Youth and Citizenship

Check out my digital Zine on how to have difficult conversations in the classroom, based on my experience as a TA in Community Psychology. You can also find more teaching resources here.

Awards, Honors and Grants

Lionel Cantú Memorial Award (2025)

Abolition Medicine and Disability Justice Research Fellow (2025)

New Gen Learning (NGL) Research Fellow (2024)

CSU Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program (CDIP) Fellow (2024)

CSU Pre-Doctoral Sally Casanova Scholar (2021-2022)

Selected Presentations

Centeno, B., Lopez, B., Leon, D., Solis, V., Zigmond Ramm, A., & Casanova, S. (2026, June 26–28). Sex Education Among Latinas: The Need for An Intersectional Feminist Approach to Sexual Health. [Paper presentation]. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Centeno, B., & Vaccarino, S. S. (2026, March 27-28). Writing in Community for Healing and Liberation: Co-Creating Counterspaces by and for BIPOC Scholar-Activists. [Workshop]. Decolonial Conference, Los Angeles, CA United States.

Centeno, B. (2025, May 16). Perspectives on substance use and sexual health education among Latine/x college students at an HSI. [Presentation]. The 2025 Graduate Research Symposium, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, United States.

Centeno, B., Coronado, B., Williams, L., Leon, D., Mendez, B., Molina, A., & Casanova, S. (2025, April 23–27). Harm reduction education among Latinx college students at a Hispanic Serving Research Institution (HSRI). In Casanova, S. (Chair) Leveraging the R in HSRIs: Research for educational equity at a Hispanic Serving Research Institution [Roundtable]. American Education Research Association 2025 Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.

Centeno, B., & Casanova, S. (2024, June 21–23). Does Latinidad perpetuate colorism? Ethnic identity and colorism among Latinx. [Paper presentation]. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Centeno, B., Figueroa, J., Taft, J. K., & Casanova, S. (2024, March 1–2). YPAR: Learning to Learn from Youth. [Roundtable]. 2024 University-Community (UC) Links Hybrid International Conference, UC Berkeley, CA.

Centeno, B., Bayazıtlı, I., Bravo, D. Y., Reyes, D. G., Argueta Rodriguez, J. C., Cabilogan, J. N., Moon, J., Purnell S. E., & Mello, Z. R. (2023, October 13–15). Coloring schools and communities: The association between colorism, academic achievement, mental health, and substance use among Latinx adolescents. The developmental significance of skin color. [Symposium]. The 13th Biennial Conference of the Society for the Study of Human Development, Philadelphia, PA.

Centeno, B., Moon, J., Bayazitli, I., & Mello, Z. R. (2022, October 20–22). A qualitative approach to understanding perceived discrimination based on immigration among adolescents. [Poster presentation]. National Latinx Psychological Association Conference, Denver, Colorado.

Selected Publications

Centeno, B., Bayazitli, I., Purnell, S., Bravo, D. Y., & Mello, Z. R. (2023). Colorism unveiled: Examining how skin color discrimination is associated with academic achievement, mental health, and substance use among Latinx adolescents. Research in Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2023.2271363 

Moon, J., Centeno, B., De Leon, J., & Mello, Z. R. (2023). Brief Report: Revealing the nuance: Examining approaches for research with adolescents who identify with multiple racial/ethnic groups. Journal of Adolescence, 1–10. http://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12242