Raised in Pangasinan, Philippines until she moved to Long Beach, California (unceded land of the Tongva Nation) as a child, Dr. Jimiliz Valiente-Neighbours identifies as a proud Filipina immigrant whose transnational upbringing has shaped her teaching and pedagogy, research scholarship and writing interests, as well as community engagement. Her teaching and scholarship include social inequality, race and ethnicity, citizenship, body and embodiment, as well as environmental sociology and food studies. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has had teaching appointments at the University of San Diego and the California State University in San Marcos before starting her full-time position at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) in 2016.

The courses she has developed and taught at PLNU on health, illness, and health equity, are required for those pursuing their MS in Integrative Wellness, Occupational Therapy and Athletic Training and are supported as an elective course for undergraduate students who are pre-med or pursuing nursing.