Graduate Student Profiles

Educational Leadership & PolicyMy research interests include Latin@ student success in post-secondary education after completing early college and dual credit programs.

Educational Leadership & PolicyHegemony and Counter-Hegemony, Social and Cultural Capital, Equity, Diversity, Higher Education

Educational Leadership & PolicyPriscilla Aquino Garza is a doctoral student in the Policy and Planning in the Department of Education Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas College of Education. Her research interests include teacher preparation, selection, placement, teacher labor markets, diversification of teacher workforce, culturally responsive pedagogy, and various school-based programs that support success in low-income Latinx and African-American students in public schools. She is currently a member of a research team led by Dr. Jennifer...

Educational Leadership & PolicyCollege access and success for underrepresented students, focusing on low-income and first-generation college students.

Educational Leadership & PolicyRachel Boggs is a doctoral student in the Education Policy and Planning Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and M.Ed. in Elementary Education from The University of Notre Dame. Experiences as an elementary school teacher informed her perspective on the challenges communities face when addressing educational inequity and increasing opportunities for all children. Rachel is interested in how social contexts influence education and how policy can...

Educational Leadership & PolicyJorge is a higher education scholar studying the following main areas: (a) executive leadership pathways of racially minoritized individuals, particularly college presidents and chancellors at public bachelor's degree granting universities and community colleges; (b) statewide policies and cross-sector partnerships that support the educational outcomes of Latino men. His dissertation research examined how Latino college president men ascribe meaning to their intersectional identities within the context of higher education leadership. He applied asset-based theories and intersectionality...

Educational Leadership & PolicyThe critical role of higher-education institutions as intergovernmental conveners, collaborators, and leaders on regional public-policy initiatives, such as Central Texas’ Master Community Workforce Plan and other community-development projects that seek to reduce societal inequities and increase college access.

Educational Leadership & PolicyAndrea has always been interested in the politics of education and how education policies are shaped and framed. She is particularly interested in researching how the intersection of educator identity and political identity impacts the legislative behavior of legislators who were formerly educators.

Educational Leadership & PolicyAvani Chhaya is a Master’s student in Educational Leadership and Policy. Her research interests center around issues of equity, particularly with low-income and second-generation student populations. In the fall of 2017, Avani was selected as a Policy Fellow with Leadership for Educational Equity. Avani brings a background teaching English Language Arts to fifth and sixth graders in New Orleans. She attended The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she obtained her English and secondary education...

Educational Leadership & PolicyA Masters student in the Education Policy and Planning program, Amanda is originally from Pennsylvania, where she earned her B.A. in Environmental Writing and Visual Arts: Studio Art from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to relocating to Austin, Amanda spent four years in New York City working in retail, public gardening, and global grassroots LGBTQI advocacy. Building on her experience attending a women's college, Amanda is passionate about how identity, diversity, and inclusion factor into...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Program in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2022college athletics, college athletes, athletics personnel and staff, diversity

Educational Leadership & PolicyEducational equity, Bilingual Education, School Choice, Critical Pedagogy, Deficit Thinking

Educational Leadership & PolicyBilingual and ESL teacher preparation, principal preparation, and school-based mental health programs for immigrant students.

Educational Leadership & Policy
M.Ed. in Education Policy and Planning, expected 2021Research interests include Critical Policy Analysis, CRT, Immigrant Students, English Language Learners, Ethnic Studies.

Educational Leadership & PolicyReyna (she/her/ella) is a doctoral student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin. She is also working full-time with Student Success Initiatives at UT supporting first-year students with high financial need. Reyna is a first-generation Latina student and daughter of migrant and seasonal farmworkers who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in deep south Texas. As a College Assistance...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2025Anthony Fowlkes is a Ph.D. student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership at UT Austin. He also works in a full-time capacity as the Moody College of Communication's first Senior Data Analyst. Anthony's primary research interests are related to students who work while learning. Particularly, Anthony is interested in understanding how working affects students' learning and relates to their post-collegiate outcomes. Prior to his time at UT Austin, Anthony worked as an Assessment Analyst for...

Educational Leadership & PolicyMarisol's research interests are influenced by her experiences as a first-generation Latina college student, who started her journey at a community college, and the shared experiences of students she encountered along her path. As such, Marisol's core research interests center around Latinx community college student success. Within this context, Marisol seeks to challenge deficit discourse and identify positive, culturally relevant practices that can improve university transfer and degree attainment for Latinx community...

Educational Leadership & Policy
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy, expected 2020Danielle Geraci Thoma is the assistant director of recruitment, outreach and communication in the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin. In her role, she oversees university-wide graduate student recruitment, orientation and convocation. Danielle earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and will receive her master’s in education in educational leadership and policy in May from UT Austin. Danielle has worked in higher education for over 15 years with expertise in...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy, expected 2022Jennifer Gonzalez is a doctoral student in the Education Policy and Planning (EPP) program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include critical approaches to bilingual education, the implementation of special education programs for English learner students, and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Educational Leadership & Policy
M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2019Tiffany’s research interest focuses on the experiences of Afro-Latinxs students in higher education.

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy - Program in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2023Mike earned both a B.A. in Psychology in 2013 and an M.Ed. in College and University Student Personnel Administration (CUSPA) in 2015 from the University of Texas at Austin. His professional career started in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin as an associate academic advisor with the Texas Interdisciplinary Scholars office where he advised students from across Texas many who were first-generation, students of color and part of the...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy - Higher Education Leadership, expected 2021Sense of belonging for undecided students and experiences of underrepresented students on PWIs.

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy, expected 2022His research examines the role of principals, K-12 educational leadership preparation, and school improvement.

Educational Leadership & PolicyJustin's research interest is on student staff selection processes and applicant experiences across aspects of identities.

Educational Leadership & PolicyOlivia's research primarily focuses on theories of care and care ethics, policy meaning-making, and the various intersections between care, education policy, and student socioeconomic stratification.

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy, expected 2020Examines diversity and inclusion practices in higher education; racialized organizational dynamics; and university-community partnerships

Educational Leadership & PolicyFederal education policy, educational policy networks, intersectionality of education/economic/housing policy and its impact on equity

Educational Leadership & PolicyA Multi-Case Study of the Perceptions of Successful Elementary Principals Previously Involved in a School District-Designed Leadership Succession Planning Program

Educational Leadership & PolicyRobert Leary currently serves as the Assistant Director for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students, where he manages residence life and Title IX case referrals. In this role, Robert provides educational and reflective opportunities to students going through the student conduct process. Robert’s prior professional experience includes working in residence life at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York University Abu Dhabi, an international branch...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning, expected 2022Fiza grew up in Pakistan and earned a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. She had a chance of teaching mathematics to Afghani refugee students in her hometown of Karachi. This experience led her to pursue a career in educational policy field. She did her masters in Educational Policy and Planning from UT and continued as a PhD student in the same department after completion in May 2018. With her doctoral degree, her goal is to...

Educational Leadership & PolicyKatrina Manalac is a Master's candidate in the Education Policy and Planning program at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2018, she received her B.S. in Secondary Social Studies Education from Baylor University. Her research interests include the access to mental health resources and mental health education for both students and faculty in the K-12 setting, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the closing of achievement gaps for minority and low socioeconomic households.

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Program in Higher Education Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, expected 2021I study hidden inequities in higher education as they manifest in financial aid practices, community colleges, and gender and the student affairs profession

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy, expected 2022Hadiza Mohammed is a doctoral student in the Education Policy and Planning Program at the University of Texas at Austin. She has a B.A. in History from Brown University and a Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences degree, focusing in History from The University of Chicago. During her time at The University of Chicago, she worked as a Teacher’s Assistant in the Chicago Public Schools. Her time as a Teacher's Assistant inspired her...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy, expected 2022The various factors in the p-16 system that impact the access to higher education for Latinx students. The educational experiences and policies regarding undocumented students.

Educational Leadership & PolicyAlicia is a San Antonio native and is a doctoral student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership. She is a graduate research assistant for Project MALES and the Longhorn Link Program (TRiO) through the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. She earned an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.F.A. in Visual Art Studies from the University of North Texas. Prior to entering the doctoral program,...

Educational Leadership & PolicyAmy Musgrave Brown has over 20 years of experience in strategy, product management, business development and sales with many companies including 3M, Dell Technologies, Polycom, and several others in Texas, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai. She has been on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Central Texas and Austin International School and is on the advisory council of Edge Learning. Amy has her BBA in Finance and MBA from UT Austin. She is currently...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2021Mariama N. Nagbe is a proud native of Detroit, MI and Ph.D. candidate studying higher education at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, and two Master’s Degrees in Social Work and Higher Education from The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. As a macro organizational behavior scholar, much of her work is anchored by a commitment to liberation as she seeks to investigate how institutional racism and other forms of...

Educational Leadership & PolicyMy current dissertation research seeks to understand and interpret how principal leadership intersects with social network theory in order to effectively enact school improvement and changes through development of culture, communication, and leadership behaviors in a network context using qualitative research methods and social network analysis of principal ego-networks. These investigations will participate in the discourse regarding the manifestations of power dynamics in school leadership, the contexts in which school reform decisions are made, and...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy, expected 2024Equity & Access for Latino/a/x College Students, Student Activism, University Counterspaces, Campus Culture/Identity Centers, Oral History, Participatory Action Research

Educational Leadership & Policy1) English Learner and Immigrant Student Populations 2) First Generation College Students 3) Students with Disabilities 4) College Readiness and Transition to Postsecondary Education 5) Equity in K-12 Education Policy and Practices

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning, expected 2021Isiana Rendón Escárcega is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy and Planning program at the University of Texas at Austin. After receiving a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rice University, Isiana decided to forego working in the industry to pursue a career in education. Before coming to UT, she was the Computer Science Track Leader at a Houston ISD high school. She is currently a Graduate Assistant in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advising...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, expected 2024Higher Education | P-20 | LatinX Boys & Men | Hispanic Serving Institutions | XicanX & LatinX Diaspora Studies | Queer & Trans* Students of Color | Qualitative Research Methods | Anti-Colonial, Postcolonial, and Critical Theories

Educational Leadership & PolicyHilary is a part-time master's student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership. She also works full-time as the custom program manager at University Extension at TEXAS Extended Campus, where she collaborates with over 25 different on-campus units to provide unique programming to diverse populations of students. She has been at the university since August 2014 and TEXAS Extended Campus since December 2015. Before joining UT, Hilary worked at a trilingual language school in Austin,...

Educational Leadership & PolicyEmma is a MA student in Education Policy and Planning at UT Austin. She earned her BA in International Politics at Queens’ University, Belfast before relocating to Austin from the UK with her daughter. Her research interests stem from her personal experiences within the Northern Ireland education system. Her interests centre on how the education system further segregates low-income pupils and she advocates for community-centred approaches to education policy. Motivated by her personal experiences within...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy, expected 2023Jinane's research interests include Arab/MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) American student experience at predominantly white institutions, equitable policy making, and academic advising.

Educational Leadership & Policystaff agency in PWIs related to equity and inclusion narrative's role in organizational and social change experience of marginalized staff, students and faculty in HE indigenous storytelling transformational leadership in HE

Educational Leadership & PolicyKa'rin's research and professional interests include examining and amplifying underrepresented student perspectives and experiences at PWIs and employing strategic policies and practices in admissions, student success, and enrollment management that foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive higher education environments with an emphasis on access and success for Black/African American, low-income, and other marginalized students.

Educational Leadership & PolicyEdgar Torres is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests lie within the inequities that exist among special populations, more specifically, English learners within the public school finance context. During the 2015 legislative session, Torres worked for Texas State Representative Mary E. Gonzalez as a lead education policy fellow. He focused on school finance policy and assisted the representative in drafting multiple bills relating to ELs, standardized assessments, and...

Educational Leadership & PolicyMaria Del Carmen Unda (she/her/ella) is a first-generation Mexican-American/Xicanx doctoral student in the Education Policy and Planning program at the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she works as a Fellow with the National Latino Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAPP) under the tutelage of Dr. Angela Valenzuela. Her research examines teachers of color, issues of equity and opportunity pertaining specifically to Latinx students in the K-12 education system, and qualitative methodology. Before beginning her...

Educational Leadership & PolicyMario's research interests include student financial literacy, policy around Title IV funding, higher education finance, enrollment management, Title IX, masculinity and the developmental journey of college men and the current political volatility/public perception of higher education. His aspiration is to be a scholar-practitioner where he hopes his research informs policy development to allocate federal, state, and university funding to establish mandated financial wellness centers and financial planners to serve higher education students amidst the student...

Educational Leadership & PolicyVictoria is a Masters student in the Educational Policy and Planning program. She earned a B.A. in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago and an M.Ed in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Victoria's research interests stem from her own experience teaching kindergarten in Austin. Frustrated with what she perceived to be a need for stronger educator preparation programs and closer relationship between research, policy, and practice, she...

Educational Leadership & Policy
Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning, expected 2020Generally, Greg's research interests include the nexus of education policy, urban policy, and community development, and Latinx/Xicanx studies. Specifically, his research focuses specifically on the effects of market-based educational reforms on public schools and a developing a narrative of poverty, struggle, and accomplishment in San Antonio, Texas. His research experience also involves the effect of economic revitalization programs on education in impoverished contexts, the sociological and educational effects of culturally relevant state school curriculum, alternative...