People
Lisa N. Aguilar
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Pronouns: she, her, ella
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Assistant professor
Dr. Aguilar is an Indigenous (Enrolled citizen of MHA Nation, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and Chicana) woman, relative, and researcher.
PhD
NCSP (Nationally Certified School Psychologist)
- Indigenous youth, families, and communities
- Indigenization
- Decolonization
- Visiting and storytelling
- Cultural identity
I am currently accepting doctoral students in the school psychology program. I encourage submissions from Indigenous applicants or those who have worked with Indigenous populations and have demonstrated an understanding of decolonization and Indigenization in their work.
Dr. Aguilar is an Indigenous (Enrolled citizen of MHA Nation, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and Chicana) woman, relative, and researcher. Her work focuses on reclaiming and remembering Indigenous ways of being and doing by working alongside Indigenous youth, families, and communities. She does this in 3 ways: 1) imagining how we decolonize education and indigenize school psychology, 2) learning how Indigenous students come to their identities of self and community, namely indigeneity, and 3) moving school psychology away from oppressive research practices toward critical research relationships.
Dr. Aguilar is the Co-Chair of the NASP Indigenous American Subcommittee, editorial board member of School Psychology Review and School Psychology International, board member of the Minnesota School Psychology Association (MSPA), and Co-Chair of the MSPA Promoting Equitable Access for Collective Impact (PEACI) Committee.
Awards & recognitions
- Selected as a Tribal Early Childhood Research Center Scholar for the 2025 Native Children’s Research Exchange Network & Conference
- Lightner Witmer Award from Division 16 - School Psychology within the American Psychological Association (awarded 2025)
- Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) award from the University of Minnesota (awarded 2024)
- Presidential award from the National Association of School Psychologists (awarded 2024)
- Invited Early Career Scholar, SPRCC 2023 for the Society for the Study of School Psychology
- 2022 Article of the Year Honorable Mention for School Psychology Review (awarded 2023)
- 2021 School Psychology Review Reviewer of the Year (awarded 2022)
- Featured Scholar, TSP Honoring Diverse Leaders in School Psychology Project (recognized 2021)
Research & funding grants
- Aguilar, L. N., Hansen-Burke, A., & Sullivan, A. (2025-2027). Project ASPIRE2: Advancing the School Psychology Pathway for Inclusion, Representation, and Equity - 2. Minnesota Department of Education. ($750,00).
- D’Costa, S., Leverett, P., Grant, S., & Aguilar, L. (2022, July). Anti-Colonial School Psychology Learning Collaborative. American Psychological Association, Division 16, Anti-Racism Action Grant. ($1,500).
- Aguilar, L. N. (2025-2026). Dreaming an Indigenized School Psychology Future: Centering the Voices of Indigenous Youth. RISE Indigenous Research Grant Program. Northwestern University. ($9,960).
Naser, S. C., Aguilar, L. N., Sabnis, S. V., Sullivan, A. L., *Kinlicheene, B., Brown, T., & *Nashashibi, S. (Accepted with Minor Revisions). Unsettling and rerooting psychological practice in schools: Part 2 - Decolonization and Indigenization of school psychology.
Aguilar, L. N., Sullivan, A. L., Naser, S. C., & Sabnis, S. V. (Accepted with Minor Revisions). Unsettling and rerooting psychological practice in schools: Part 1 - Overview of colonization and its influence on school psychology.
Aguilar, L. N., Henderson Smith, L., & Goforth, A. (In Press). Critical relationality in research: A proposed framework for engaging in research alongside Indigenous communities. Journal of School Psychology special issue.
Henderson Smith, L., Aguilar, L. N., Joshua, K., Pandey, T., Sox, D., Hernandez, B., Wang, Y., Yang, K., & Bottiani, J.H. (In Press). Mixed-method systematic review: Using a cultural validity assessment to evaluate prevention programs for Indigenous students. Journal of School Psychology special issue. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2024.101402
Aguilar, L. N., *Mojica, K., *Lim, H. S., *Palmer, J. S., *Ruiz, M. D., *Serratos, C. B., &
*Soto J. M. (In Press). Surviving and thriving in school psychology through community
building and storytelling: A collaborative autoethnography. School Psychology
International. https://doi.org/10.1177/01430343231194733
Aguilar, L. N. (2023). Best practices in addressing needs of Indigenous children and
families in schools. In P. L. Harrison, S. L. Proctor, & A. Thomas (Eds.), Best practices
in school psychology foundations (7th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 113-126). National Association of
School Psychologists.
Pham, A. V., Goforth, A. N., Aguilar, L. N., Burt, I., *Bastian, R., & *Diakow, D. (2021). Dismantling systemic inequities in school psychology: Cultural humility as a foundational approach to social justice. School Psychology Review, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1941245
Aguilar, L. N., Shearin, J., Sam, W., & Mojica, K. (2021). Indigenous youth in schools: Consequences of colonialism and advocating for a better future. Communiqué, 50(1), 1, 26-30.
Aguilar, L.N., Goforth, A. N., & von Bargen, V. (2025, February). School psychologists experiences and preparedness for working with Indigenous students. [Paper]. National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention. Seattle, WA.
Aguilar, L. N. (2024, June). Healing the wounds: Understanding the impact of the boarding school era on Indigenous youth. [Invited Speaker]. Walking in Balance: Supporting Native Youth Holistically through Culturally Responsive School Counseling. Saint Paul Public Schools. Saint Paul, MN.
Aguilar, L. N. (2024, April). Using Tribal Critical Race Theory to inform an Indigenized school psychological praxis. [Invited Distinguished Speaker]. School Psychology Spring Symposium. University of South Dakota. Vermillion, SD.
Aguilar, L. N. (2023, December). Indigenizing school psychology research and practice. [Invited Speaker]. University of South Florida. Tampa, FL.
Aguilar, L.N. (2023, November). Research is relationship: Undoing colonialism in school psychology. Invited speaker: Indigenous Students in Psychology Training (InPsyT) program. Bemidji State University. Bemidji, MN.
Grant, S. M. & Aguilar, L. N. (2023, August). Co-creating anti-colonial learning spaces: Building communities of resistance. [Critical Conversation]. American Psychological Association. Washington, D. C.
Robinson-Zañartu, C., Aguilar, L. N., *Kinlicheene, B., *Greensky, S., & *Peterson, R. (2023, February). Relationality, responsibility, reciprocity, resistance: Working alongside Indigenous youth and communities. Documented session: The National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention. Denver, CO.
Aguilar, L.N. (2022, November). Tribal critical race theory: Implications for educational policy. Invited speaker: Celebrating Native education: The power of Indigenous Peoples. Sponsored by San Diego State University Native Resource Center and SHPA Native Scholars and Collaborators Project. San Diego, CA.
Aguilar, L.N. (2022, October). Indigenizing and decolonizing school-based practices: Being in right relationship. Invited speaker: Alaska School Psychologists Association Fall 2022 Conference. Anchorage, AK.
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Educational Psychology
250 Education Sciences Bldg.
56 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55455 - aguilarl@umn.edu
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By appointment