Vanessa N. Bermudez

Vanessa Bermudez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Loyola Marymount University. She earned her Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Irvine, with a concentration in Human Development in Context. Her research examines the design and evaluation of playful learning environments across school, home, and community settings to support young children’s early math and science learning. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogies, she works to align educational experiences with the cultural practices and strengths of children and families.

Dr. Bermudez partners with families and educators, particularly within Latine communities, to co-create engaging, culturally meaningful learning opportunities that foster early skills and strengthen home–school connections. She also equips educators with strategies to draw on families’ funds of knowledge to enrich math and science instruction. Her earlier work explored bilingual language development, parenting practices, and numerical cognition, as well as the design and evaluation of game-based learning tools and tutoring interventions.

Her scholarship has been recognized with the Next Generation of Family Math Researchers Dissertation Fellowship, the Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, and the Public Impact Fellowship. She is committed to advancing equity in early childhood education through approaches that are culturally relevant and effective in supporting children’s learning and development.