After his post-doctoral training, Dr. Rivera worked as a research assistant professor and scientific advisor at the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics (TIMES) and Department of Psychology at the University of Houston. His research is focused on child and community development, classroom learning environments, the efficacy of school programs, and teacher professional development in urban and rural settings. Through the office of bilingual education at SMU, Dr. Rivera is currently conducting a collaborative study with Dr. Bill Pulte on the implementation of a research-based program for language revitalization of the Chickasaw Nation. In collaboration with Dr. Patricia Mathes, Dr. Rivera is the PI for a research project focused on the randomized efficacy trial of a core reading curriculum for the primary grades (K–3).