Carmen Perez
Carmen Perez, Master of Social Work Student at IUPUI

Before Master of Social Work student Carmen Perez came to IUPUI, she attended a social justice university in Chicago and worked with Latina domestic violence victims. It was there that she discovered a calling to advocate for vulnerable populations.

Perez was born to a Peruvian doctor and nurse who moved to Chicago in the late 1980s, and she grew up in a Spanish-speaking household. After graduating from IUPUI with her bachelor’s in sociology and psychology, she became a case manager for undocumented immigrant families in Indiana.

As she worked alongside lawyers to help families going through the removal process, Perez became increasingly aware of the shortage of bilingual social workers in Indiana.

Everyone asks, ‘Why don’t you go back to Chicago?’ And that’s not the point,” she said. “They need people here who are bilingual. That’s why we fight for Indiana.”

Carmen Perez attends the Indianapolis Top Doctors gathering with her family where her father was honored with an award. Pictured from left to right are her sister Nancy Perez, her mother Magali Chumbiauca, RN, her father Felipe Perez, MD, her sister Cristina Perez, MD, and Carmen.

Now, in her last year of the MSW program, Perez works full-time as a project coordinator for the Indiana Behavioral Health Access Program for Youth within the IU School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. She also works at the Indiana Department for Veterans Affairs for her social work practicum providing therapy at the mental health outpatient clinic and military sexual trauma consultations.

Despite her busy schedule, Perez is an active member of the Master of Social Work Student Association. She also was recently accepted into the Indiana Rural Health Association’s fellowship program that allows upper-level undergraduate and graduate school students to connect with rural leaders around the state while creating solutions to complex public health issues. Perez will use the fellowship to work on policies for undocumented immigrants in rural areas, and she hopes to continue advocating for Latinx populations in the years to come.