Norma Rubio is a Cota-Robles Fellow and doctoral student in Social Welfare at UCLA. She combines her experience as an Emmy-winning television writer, producer, and director with her work as a community researcher. Her time in television taught her the power of storytelling and engaging with audiences—skills she now uses to highlight the voices of youth and families whose experiences are often overlooked in policy discussions.

Her research currently centers on transition-age youth, examining issues such as food insecurity, housing stability, and the systemic barriers influencing their journey into adulthood. Norma has contributed to studies on young people in foster care, collaborated with nonprofits to improve culturally responsive services, and created mindfulness and resilience programs to aid frontline workers and youth.

As a Mexican-American emerging scholar, Norma is dedicated to connecting research, practice, and public engagement. Strongly rooted in her identity and values, she is especially passionate about promoting the well-being of Latinx communities and ensuring that policies and programs embody their strengths, voices, and needs. She aims for her work to influence interventions that increase opportunity and well-being in underserved communities, while also leveraging her media background to present research in ways that are accessible, human, and impactful.

Norma’s research interests focus on exploring the topic of mattering and improving the well-being and life transitions of youth and families—especially within Latinx communities. Her work interests include examining issues related to immigration, equity-driven change, and the transformation of social work systems to foster belonging, justice, and holistic well-being.