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Born and raised in The Bronx, Shirley P. Leyro earned her Ph.D. and is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Borough of Manhattan Community College – CUNY. Dr. Leyro began her tenure as the Administrative Director of The Bronx Health Link, Inc. in January of 2023. She has a background in organizing and activism, focused around immigration and immigrant rights, in particular: issues surrounding immigration enforcement and the criminalization of immigrants. A critical criminologist, Dr. Leyro’s academic research focuses on deportation effects – including the impact of fear resulting from the vulnerability to deportation. Her research interests include immigration, deportation, social disorganization, "crimmigration," and the impact of all the above on mental health. As a result of her research findings, she became a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and collaborated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to give MHFA certification trainings across the city. Dr. Leyro brings her experience as an educator, researcher, organizer, and activist to the two positions she holds in an effort to improve the lives of those she serves both as an academic and community advocate. 

Program Coordinator; Urban Studies (A.A.)

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC)

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Shirley P. Leyro, Ph.D.

ON THE BLOG

Youtube; "January 2020 | LATiNAS" Jan 14, 2020​

​On this episode of Latinas - host Tinabeth Piña sits down with NY State Assembly Woman and CUNY alum Catalina Cruz, correspondent Elena Romero interviews Dr. Shirley Leyro about the number of Latinas earning their PhD's.​​

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​EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, AND RESEARCHER

Administrative Director

The Bronx Health Link, Inc. (TBHL)

Youtube; "Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini (Lifetime Movie)" 

​After Sherri Papini went for a run and didn’t come home in 2016, the heat was on to find the mother of two. The Northern California missing-person case quickly became a national story–true crime aficionados couldn’t talk about anything but the “supermom”, especially after she returned and her story about being abducted wasn’t adding up.​​