About the Co-Founders

Manuel X. Zamarripa

Manuel X. Zamarripa is the co-director and co-founder of the Institute of Chicana/o/x Psychology based in Austin, TX where he conducts community workshop platicas as well as professional development training for educators and mental health professionals on issues related to Chicana/o/x wellness, cultural identity, and mental health from a Chicana/o/x framework. Dr. Zamarripa is a trained psychologist, clinician, college dean, and danzante. He has been a student and teacher of Chciana/o/x Psychology for 30 years. A previous academic program director and associate professor, he was awarded the University of Texas System Chancellor’s “Innovations in Education Award” (2007). Manuel has been featured on NPR and in the L.A. Times. He is also currently the president of the National Latinx Psychological Association. Manuel’s publications and presentations in psychology and education focus on Chicana/o/x well-being, racial responsiveness, cultural revitalization, social justice and leadership.

Chicano Psychologist, Dr. Zamarripa, is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor (Texas) and received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his master’s in Counseling Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, and his bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Notre Dame.

Tlazoltiani Jessica Zamarripa

Tlazoltiani Jessica Zamarripa is co-director & co-founder of the Institute of Chicana/o/x Psychology. Tlazoltiani is a Cultural Educator, Mental Health Advocate, & Keeper of our ancestral wisdom. She is a long time Austin, TX mami activist and community organizer working toward social justice within the Chicanx and Latinx community. She was an organizer for the collective, Latina Mami, for more than 15 years. Her community home is Kalpulli Teokalli Teoyolotl. The preservation of her culture and community is a driving force in her life. Jessica is a founding member of Academia Cuauhtli, a local Austin language and cultural revitalization school program for Spanish speaking Mexican American elementary students. She is also a past council member of Alma de Mujer Center for Social Change and a Danzante de La Luna and danzante with Danza Mexica Xochipilli. Her writing, dancing and community work is medicine toward the liberation, healing, and flourishing of her children and her people.