Maria del Mar Farina

Maria del Mar Fariña, Ph.D., LICSW, is an Associate Professor at Simmons University, School of Social Work, Adjunct Professor at Smith College, School for Social Work, and Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University, School of Social Work, where she has taught since 2023. A scholar and clinician, she brings extensive expertise in political psychology, immigration policy, and clinical social work practice. She previously served as Professor and MSW Program Director at Westfield State University. In addition to her doctoral and master's degrees in clinical social work from Smith College, she holds a Master of Business Administration from Western New England College.

Dr. Fariña's research examines U.S. immigration policy, immigrant integration, and the rise of nationalist, nativist, and populist ideologies in Europe and the United States. She is the author of two books: Psychological Borders in Europe and the United States: Contemporary Nationalism, Nativism and Populism (Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield, 2023; Bloomsbury paperback edition, 2026), and White Nativism, Ethnic Identity and U.S. Immigration Policy Reforms: American Citizenship and Children in Mixed-Status Hispanic Families (Routledge, 2018). She has presented her work internationally, including at the International Society of Political Psychology and the European Commission's Processes Influencing Democratic Ownership and Participation initiative.

She maintains an active clinical practice working with Latinx, immigrant, asylum-seeking, and refugee communities across New England.