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Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick

Inaugral Faculty Member for Ethnic Studies, Cuesta College
Chapter Member: Los Angeles Unified SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Mario Alberto

(805) 668-3214

About Mario Alberto

Espinoza-Kulick’s research focuses on health policy, immigration, race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, and social movements. Through the framework of decolonial-inspired methods, his research produces relevant scholarship in collaboration with community, highlighting evidence for equitable policy change. Overarching themes in Espinoza-Kulick’s writings include advocacy strategies that transform health policy, cross-sectoral collaboration, and unequal healthcare access among Latinx immigrants. Espinoza-Kulick serves on the Boards for Corazón del Pueblo: The Cultural and Creative Arts Center of the Santa Maria Valley, and Access Support Network.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Guía de Promoción de Políticas

Policy Recommendation,

Equidad en Salud

Policy Recommendation,

Pushing the Boundaries: Graduate Student Research

White Paper,

Latinx Community Survey Evidence for California Healthcare Bills

Policy Recommendation,

Evidencia de una encuesta comunitaria Latinx para las políticas de atención médica de California

Policy Recommendation,

Policy Advocacy 101 Toolkit

Policy Recommendation,

Health Equity for Immigrant and Indigenous Communities on California’s Central Coast

Basic Facts Brief,

Latinx Immigrant Health in San Luis Obispo County: A Report from the La Gente Unida Project

Key Findings Brief,

In the News

The Legacy of Cesar Chavez by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Latinx Culture, More Than Cinco de Mayo by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick (with C.R. Lara and Victoria Condor-Williams) to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Access to Recreation in Rural and Low-Income Communities by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Why Parks and Recreation Are Essential Public Services by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick (with Lynda Plescia and Dennis Smitherman) to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Changes in Juvenile Justice by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick (with Tanja Heitman and Jill Sharkey) to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Working Toward a Healthy Community by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick (with David Kilburn and Karla Quiroga) to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Guest to discuss Building a Tobacco-Free SLO on KCBXFM Central Coast Public Radio, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, November 2, 2022.
What Is Monkeypox (MPX), and Should I Be Worried? by Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick (with Dusty Colyer-Worth, Maryam Guiahi, and Jenny Taranto) to Central Coast Voices/KCBX.
Guest to discuss HPRS Core of Your Story Health Policy Research Scholars on HPRS Cohort 2017, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, 2021.
Interview on Anti-Bias Education in Early Learning Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, March 3, 2022.
Interview on Celebrating Black History Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, KCBX Central Coast Public Radio, February 3, 2022.
Interview on Paso People’s Action Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, January 7, 2022.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted by Mackenzie Shuman, "Coronavirus: Cuesta College SLO Plans for Classes, Vaccines" The San Luis Obispo Tribune, 2021.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on Letter: Ban lies not CRT – Basic facts to counter fear mongering by Camille Katz, "Paso Robles Daily News" , December 15, 2021.
Interview on Protecting the Heritage of the Central Coast Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, December 2, 2021.
Interview on SLO Equity: Engaging Our Community Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, November 4, 2021.
"La Idioma Crea Barreras," Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, El Latino , 2020.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted by Claudia Buccio, "Pandemic limits Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations for many" KSBY, September 15, 2021.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted by News Staff, "Cuesta College’s Fall Semester Begins August 16" Paso Robles Daily News, August 11, 2021.
Guest to discuss the current debate around Critical Race Theory and the controversy that has sprung from proposals to teach the Ethnic Studies curriculum in high school and elsewhere on KCBX: Central Coast Public Radio, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, July 8, 2021.
Guest to discuss aiming to empower people from minoritized groups to govern the resources, education, advocacy, and access points that shape good health. on Central Coast Voices Morning Edition/KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, June 10, 2021.
"Big Promises for Immigrants Will Biden-Harris Reverse the Cycle of Institutional Discrimination?," Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, Opinion, Santa Barbara Independent, February 9, 2021.
"Community Health Movement Launches for Santa Maria, Guadalupe Residents," Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, Interview with Karen Cruz-Orduña, KEYT, February 9, 2021.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on wanting folks to really understand that we are for impacting the community and health sovereignty, meaning everyone has a right to health care by Laura Place, "Cal Poly Center for Health Research Launches People’s Health Movement in Santa Maria," Santa Maria Times, December 7, 2020.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on wearing my mask because I value my health, my family and our community, "Protect. Respect. Wear Your Mask" Twitter, July 22, 2020.
Guest to discuss Healthcare and the Latinx Community on Issues and Ideas, KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, July 17, 2020.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on this is not a form of protest, [church officials] are participating in white saviorhood and protecting the statue from disfiguration, "For Safekeeping or the Ousting of a Noxious Symbol, Serra Statues Come Down" KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio, July 1, 2020.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on how can educators further step up to be allies and accomplices with movements for LGBTQ+ inclusion? , "Building Teaching Capacity For LGBTQ+ Inclusion With Queer Ethnic Studies" Carnegie Education, June 26, 2020.
Guest to discuss thanking on behalf of the Cultural and Creative Arts Center of the Santa Maria Valley on YouTube, Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, June 9, 2020.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted by Nicole Poletto, "Gaucho Grad Selected for National Leadership Program to Build Health Equity" Grad Post, October 6, 2017.
Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick quoted on all of this bigotry and hate speech has affected me at a personal level by Brian De Los Santos, Tre'vell Anderson and Priya Krishnakumar, "We’ve Woken Up’: What It’s Like To Be LGBT Under Trump" Los Angeles Times
"Discovering Silence Through Indigenous Methodologies," Mario Alberto Espinoza-Kulick, UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Research, August 6, 2015.

Publications

"We Need Health for All”: Mental Health and Barriers to Care among Latinxs in California and Connecticut" (with Jessica P. Cerdeña ). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 19 (2022).

Builds on research with local community leaders and agencies to put forward a model for inclusive health care delivery that includes multilingual access and structurally competent providers.

"Movement Pandemic Adaptability: Health Inequity and Advocacy among Latinx Immigrant and Indigenous Peoples" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 15 (2022).

Conceptualizes what I call, “movement pandemic adaptability,” drawing from a decolonial-inspired study including participant-observation (September 2018–September 2020), interviews (n = 31), and focus groups (n = 12) with community members and health advocates. Data collection began before the COVID-19 pandemic (September 2018–February 2019) and continued during its emergence and the initial shelter-in-place orders (March 2019–September 2020).

"La Gente Unida: Latinx Immigrant and Indigenous Health and Advocacy on California’s Central Coast," UC Santa Barbara, June 2021.

Documents health disparities facing heterogenous Latinx Immigrant and Indigenous groups and analyzes immigrant health advocacy strategies.

"Addressing the Cultures of Health in Latinx Communities," UC Santa Barbara, 2018-2019.

Brings you the voices of twenty-one graduate students from across the disciplinary spectrum. Discussses what drives them to pursue their research, their personal journeys that brought them to UCSB, and what they hope their work will accomplish.

"Marijuana Policy Project" (with Alex Espinoza-Kulick), in Marijuana in America (ABC-CLIO, LLC, Forthcoming).

Tells the history of the Marijuana Policy Project, focusing on how issues of race and health shaped their formation and ongoing advocacy work.

"Ethnic Enclaves" (with Maura Fennelly, Kevin Beck, and Ernesto Castañeda). Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology (2021).

Provides a comprehensive overview of the existing research on "ethnic enclaves," which has been deployed to understand concentrated areas of residential segregation and minority business ownership.

"Know Your Status: Alleviating Stigma From the HIV Positive Community of San Luis Obispo California," Cal Poly, June, 2015.

Describes the formation of a HIV/AIDS awareness, testing, and prevention program that was piloted at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The findings demonstrate how to create an effective community-based program, and the "Know Your Status" event has been adopted annually

"Community Report: Preliminary Findings," UC Santa Barbara, June 24, 2020.

Describes the crisis of health facing Latinx immigrant communities on California's Central Coast, highlighting major concerns for policymakers and community stakeholders.

"The Care-Advocacy Paradox: How Social Movement Organizers Strategize in Support of People Living With HIV/AIDS," 2018.

Analyzes interviews from the ACT UP Oral History project. Demonstrates how organizers in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic used creative, confrontational strategies in order to raise awareness and gain resources for people living with HIV/AIDS.