Profiles of the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute Advisory Council: Enmanuel Mercedes, Ph.D.

Enmanuel Mercedes' commitment to Seton Hall University began in the eighth grade when his middle school chose our Chancellor's Suite for its graduation celebration. Years later, he enrolled in the University for his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees. Now a licensed psychologist with over 15 years of clinical experience and the founder and head psychologist of Your Wellness Space™, he continues to choose the University. As a member of the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute's (JAULI) Advisory Council, he highlights the need to do more, expressing gratitude for all the Institute has achieved for its scholars while acknowledging the constant need to develop innovative and effective ways to impact them positively. He is also a Board Member of the Boys to Leaders Foundation. 

When he was just ten years old, Mercedes immigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States with his parents. The move was an opportunity for a better education and increased financial status, but it was not without its challenges. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, meant being separated from the rest of their family and adapting to a new language and culture. The family felt a severe loss compounded by personal traumas that led to unhealthy family dynamics. Consequently, Mercedes endured adverse experiences that underlie his gravitation towards working with families like his own by providing mental health services, advocating for, and educating historically underserved communities. He reflects on his upbringing, "There's a constant need to remind our community and to remind those that are in power–have influence–that we can do more to help heal trauma and address the different psychosocial challenges that everyone is dealing with. I really draw from my experiences as an immigrant, my experiences as a child in the inner city, and in the public school system, having to, at one point, receive public assistance."

As a member of JAULI's Advisory Council, he contributes his expertise to ensure the Institute prioritizes students' mental health for personal, academic, and professional success. The Institute is honored to have the President Emeritus of the Latino Mental Health Association of New Jersey, the Director of Workplace Wellness at La Casa de Don Pedro (the largest Hispanic-serving non-profit in the state), and a recipient of the 2018 Avance Award for leadership and service on the Council. It is bettered by his career experience helping professionals and entrepreneurs achieve their personal and professional goals by overcoming mental and emotional challenges, providing consultation services to organizations to promote psychological safety and emotional wellness, and offering lectures and workshops on understanding the significance of emotional intelligence for personal, academic, and professional success.

His focus lies in "right[ing] the wrongs of past injustices and rectify[ing] some of the inefficiencies that some of our students have had to deal with." He recognizes that "if you have a problem and you throw money at it, but you don't address the underlying issues, you can sometimes make the situation worse. And I don't mean that money should not be part of the solution. What I mean is that there are other issues, systemically speaking–mental health-related and education-related–like feeling part of a community, part of a family, that social capital, and that sense of connectedness. All these things cannot be solved with just money."

As a first-generation college student, Mercedes is acutely aware of the challenges and fears many of our Latine/a/o/x scholars face. He is committed to supporting the Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute in empowering these students to take the risks he could not. He remembers that he, too, depended on financial aid to complete his education and hopes to give back and do more for his community while emphasizing mental health.

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