Jackeline Cruz

Jackeline (Jackie) is a graduate of Silberman’s School of Social Work and primarily supports the Post Order Defense Team and the Immigrant Wellness Team at UnLocal. As a first generation immigrant, she is passionate about advancing equity in over-exploited and under-resourced immigrant communities and creating healing spaces for those who suffer at the forefront of broken and racialized systems. Her clinical approach is rooted in anti-oppressive and culturally inclusive trauma-informed practices. She has experience providing court advocacy and therapeutic services to youth and families as an alternative to incarceration. She also holds a M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Brooklyn College and is a 2014 published author in the journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy for her work on a proposed structural intervention addressing sexual health communication among the LGBTQ+ community. She contributed to projects at Columbia University’s Global Mental Health & Stigma Lab, Brooklyn College’s Psychophysiology Lab, and the PRIDE Health Research Consortium researching mental health, juvenile delinquency, and HIV prevention efforts. Jackie looks forward to holistically supporting UnLocal participants and continuing the fight to abolish carceral systems.