Dr. Ayli Carrero Pinedo partners with organizations and policymakers to build programs, systems, and cultures that hold up in practice.
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Dr. Carrero Pinedo helps organizations relocate their resources toward meaningful work that expands their mission and reach. She identifies gaps in how they serve their communities, brings in the voices that are usually missing from that conversation, and uses that input to inform and strengthen existing programs. She collaborates with organizations to build roadmaps that guide them through different phases of change.
Engagements are built around your organization's specific context, goals, and capacity. The work is rigorous, collaborative, and designed to produce outcomes that hold up long after the engagement ends.
The Approach
Before strategy, before planning, before scope. A structured conversation designed to surface assumptions and make sure the work ahead is grounded in what is real, not just what is urgent.
That process is guided by the RAÍZ Framework.
RAÍZ is the Spanish word for roots. Because the strongest work begins at the foundation, not the surface.
Selected Work
Three examples from a body of work spanning community, clinical, and organizational settings.
Early-career psychologists of color lacked funding infrastructure and recognition within the field's most prominent foundation.
Designed and secured a $100,000 permanent endowment — the first American Psychological Foundation grant in the foundation's history to compensate its own reviewers. An additional $50,000 was secured following the initial endowment. The CHANGE Grant is now a permanent part of APF's portfolio.
Veterans of Color navigating racial trauma had limited access to clinically grounded, culturally responsive group care within the VA system.
Partnered with Veterans of Color to revise and expand an existing Racial Stress, Resilience and Empowerment Group at VA Greater Los Angeles, strengthening its clinical foundation and cultural responsiveness. This work was part of a broader commitment to improving patient access to care and centering Veteran voices, recognized with the Karimian Spirit Award in 2023 and 2025.
APA's Trauma Psychology division needed an equity, diversity, and inclusion strategic plan that was actionable, specific, and built to outlast a single leadership cycle.
Developed a comprehensive 5-year EDI strategic plan for APA Division 56. The plan was adopted without modification and is now actively under implementation.
Transition age youth (16–24) from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in Long Beach needed structured, skills-based mental health programming that met them where they were — not where providers assumed they should be.
Designed and facilitated a 4-week emotional intelligence workshop series for groups of 12 participants, covering emotion identification, emotional regulation skills, and applied coping strategies through interactive, experiential activities. Participant feedback highlighted the value of learning to name and understand their emotions, the relevance of the material to their daily lives, and the energy of the group activities.
"Wherever mental health equity is discussed. I want to be there."Dr. Ayli Carrero Pinedo
"Thank you for thinking of this work for your organization. I would love to explore what we can build together. Reach out through the contact page with your project details and let's find a time to connect."
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