[2] Her interdisciplinary scholarly work brings together perspectives from sociology, politics, and religion to further understanding of issues and barriers related to gender, sexuality, language, and race.

[5] Her award citation emphasized that she "worked forcefully to advance cross-cultural communication, gender issues, human sexuality, international awareness, and cultural factors as critical elements in the knowledge base of psychology.

[1] In 1961, she left Cuba and began her life as an immigrant to Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, and eventually the United States.

Early in her career she conducted a brief survey (in collaboration with Richard R. Renner) and created an annotated bibliography to inform counselors about the situation in Latin America.

[4] In San Diego, Espin was part of a writers' group that included Lillian Faderman, Carolyn Marsden, and Abigail Padgett who encouraged her to write about memory and language.