A portrait photo of Lina Carpenter, who has dark brown hair, black glasses, blue & white globe earrings, and a dark navy shirt. She is looking away to the left with a cream-colored wall in the background.

Lina holds a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Human Development in Context from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She earned an M.A. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from California State University at Northridge, and a second M.A. in Education from UCI. Lina also has a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Lina's approach to teaching and mentorship is grounded in the belief that learning thrives when students feel supported, understood, and empowered. Her early experiences as a preschool teacher shaped this perspective, particularly as she observed how children's behavior was often misunderstood rather than recognized as communication. These experiences inspired her master's thesis, "Why Won't They Just Behave?!" which encouraged educators to reframe so-called "problem" behaviors through the lens of self-regulation and child development. Today, Lina brings that same strengths-based philosophy to higher education, creating inclusive learning environments that emphasize accessibility, evidence-based pedagogy, and student agency. Drawing on her experiences as a disabled and multiracial scholar, she is especially committed to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students as they navigate academic and professional transitions. Her dedication to equitable teaching has been recognized through more than 100 hours of pedagogical training, her selection as a UC Irvine Pedagogical Scholar, a California State University PRE-Professor (CSU PREPP) Fellow, and a UCI Digital Accessibility Fellow.

Lina's research explores the personality, cognitive, and social processes that shape socioemotional development across culturally diverse populations. Drawing on her expertise in child and adolescent development, she has investigated topics including empathy, self-compassion, emotion regulation, and prosocial behavior, with applications spanning early childhood through higher education. More broadly, she is interested in translating developmental and educational research into practices that foster more equitable, accessible, and supportive learning environments for students, educators, and communities.

Lina defended her three-study dissertation, “Motives & Elements of Kindness: The Interplay of Personal Traits & Prosocial Behaviors” in May 2024. Her dissertation examined how psychological factors such as empathy, perspective-taking, self-compassion, emotion regulation, and beliefs about social responsibility influence different forms of kindness—from altruistic helping to more self-serving prosocial behavior. Collectively, this work contributes to a deeper understanding of the emotional and cognitive processes that promote compassion and cooperation, with implications for education, mentoring, and the design of environments that support human flourishing.