Oliva M. Espin, PhD, is the first Latina professor emerita of Women’s Studies at San Diego State University, having served the institution from 1990-2007. Espin received her bachelor's degree from the Universidad de Costa Rica in 1969, and her doctoral degree from the University of Florida in 1974. Upon receipt of her doctoral degree, Espin worked as a psychotherapist, interim assistant professor in Canada, and an associate clinical professor at Boston University before working a National Institutes of Mental Health fellowship at Harvard University.
Espin is the first Latina to earn the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions from the American Psychological Association in 1991. Espin is a global scholar. In 1994 she became a fellow for the British Psychological Society. She has garnered other awards and honors from APA, including the Div. 52’s Outstanding International Psychologist and APA’s Denmark-Reuder awards for Outstanding International Contributions to the Psychology of Women and Gender. In addition to these, she is also a distinguished member of (and winner of awards from) the National Latina/o Psychological Association and the Association for Women in Psychology.
In addition to her many years of teaching experience, Espin’s research and advocacy work is also laudable. She has fought for refugee women to gain access to mental healthcare services, and her articles and book chapters are interdisciplinary in nature, tying in sociology, politics and religion to raise questions about gender, sexuality, language and race barriers. Her presentations in the U.S. and the world at large are just as exciting as her classroom lectures. In “Feminist Theory: Not for or By White Women Only”, Espin critiqued Feminist Psychology for its lack of acknowledgement of race.
In the Latinx community, where religion is a large part of the culture, there is a strong stigma against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons. Throughout her career, Espin bravely produced an extensive multitude of publications that challenged LGBTQ issues and laid the groundwork for many other Latino/a psychologists to do the same. For her, spirituality did not negate sexual orientation/gender identification, it instead strengthened her self-care, and her psychotherapeutic practices. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the National Latino/a Psychological Association (NLPA), will change its name to the Latinx Psychological Association thereby representing a larger scope of gender identities. Espin retired in 2007, yet she is still in high demand. The NLPA name change is merely another reflection of her legacy.