Nelida Quintero, PhD

Adjunct Instructor | Social Sciences
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Education

BA, Mills College
MArch, Princeton University
MFA, The New School
MPhil, The Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York
PhD, City University of New York
UAPC

Biography

Nélida Quintero is an environmental psychologist and licensed architect based in New York who served as an American Psychological Association Representative at the United Nations from 2014–2024. Her project list includes consulting on well-being and the physical environment, as well as designing and managing architecture and interiors projects in the United States and Latin America. Quintero's research interests are broadly focused on the interactions between people, behavior, and the physical environment, in particular in relationship to wellbeing, gender, and the city.

Quintero is a fellow at the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health. She belongs to the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations; the Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology; and the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. She holds a PhD in Environmental Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, a Master's degree in Architecture from Princeton University, a Master's degree in Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Studio Arts and Communications.

Research Interests

Environment and behavior/environmental psychology; health, well-being, and the physical environment; psychology and sustainability; urban design and wellbeing; design equity and inclusive design; culture, gender, and physical space; media and physical space; psychology and human rights; qualitative research methods; ethnography and design; internet-based research methods

Selected Publications

Sigal, J., Quintero, N. & Valente, E. (2020) Human Rights and Well-being of Older Persons: Challenges and Opportunities. In R. Flores, R. & N. Rubin (Eds) The Cambridge handbook of psychology and human rights, New York, US: Cambridge University Press.

Quintero, N. (2020) Design and Contagion: well-being and the physical environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of urban design and mental health, 6.

Quintero, N., & Scherer, D. (2017) Experiential Resonance: Tapping into embodied knowledge – A qualitative study of snow sports instruction in New York, in H. Royko-Jokela & P. Pöyhönen (Eds.), The many faces of sow sports: ski congress 2017 (pp. 277-290). Jyväskylä, Finland: Jyväskylä University Press.

Flores, R., Gaba, A., Jaipal, R., Quintero, N. & Rubin, N (2017) From Surviving to Thriving: Role of Mental Health in Facilitating Global Health and Attaining Sustainable Development in C. Stout (Ed.) Why global health matters: how to (actually) make the world a better place (pp. 492-515). (n.p.): CreateSpace Independent.

Conferences and Presentations 

Keynote speaker, “Well-being and the city: Considering Third Places and the interactions of urban spaces and psycho-social well-being” for H-GAC’s Fall Planning workshop “Between home and work: How Third Places help build inclusive communities”, Virtual, 2024.

Panel speaker, “The urban environment and well-being” for panel “International Psychology Today”, Fordham University, New York, NY 2024.

Panel speaker, “NGO Collaborations at the United Nations” for panel “Taking Psychology Global”, American Psychological Association Convention, Seattle, WA, 2024.

Symposium Chair, “Towards Just and Equitable Societies: Women’s Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Goals”, American Psychological Association Convention, Virtual, 2021.

Speaker, “Building Back Social Life in Shared, Public and Urban Spaces in the Sustainable City: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology and the Built Environment after a Year in Lockdown” for Symposium “Role of Psychology in Reimaging a Post-Pandemic World: Voices from APA Psychologists at the United Nations”, American Psychological Association Convention, Virtual, 2021.

Panel speaker, “Well Being and the City: Exploring Connections Between Urban Design & Mental Health”, for panel “Site Design Strategies for Health & Wellness”, American Society ` of Landscape Architects/NY, Virtual, 2020.

Panel Speaker, “Equity, Well-Being & the Built Environment” for panel “Creating Equity in Neighborhoods”, Conscious Cities Festival, Virtual, 2020.

Courses

  • SS 311 Environmental Psychology
  • SS 312 Sensation and Perception
  • SS 336 Psychology for Sustainability
  • SS 385 Social Psychology