Nayeli was born and raised in a rural town in Illinois. She is a junior at Harvard College concentrating in Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology. At the Stress and Development Lab, Nayeli is working on the Studying Adolescents in Realtime (STAR) project to better understand the link between adverse life events in childhood and the development of adolescent psychopathology.

In addition to her role in the lab, Nayeli is interested in the mechanism by which adverse life events influence the development and manifestation of psychopathology among young individual. She is also interested in how understanding these mechanisms can inform treatment options for young individuals. Nayeli is also interested in how immigration, intergenerational trauma, and the stigma surrounding mental health within the Latine community can influence the onset of psychopathology in children and adolescents. In her free time, Nayeli enjoys volunteering and mentoring children, creating welcoming spaces on campus for the Latine community, baking and cooking with her mom, home improvement projects, being outdoors, and spending time with her loved ones.