Daniel Almeida
Assistant Professor, School of Education, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2016
Daniel J. Almeida is an assistant professor in the School of Education at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and coordinator of the Master of Science program in Higher Education Counseling/Student Affairs. Almeida teaches courses on student development theory, multicultural counseling and leadership. He received his BA in psychology from Dartmouth College, MA in higher education administration from Boston College, and PhD in Urban Education Policy at the USC Rossier School of Education.
Almeida has published articles in Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, and the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. He also has two chapters included in the edited book The Problem of College Readiness and a chapter in Qualitative Inquiry in Higher Education Organization and Policy Research in the Core Concepts in Higher Education series.
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Arely Acuña Avilez
Instructor, Department of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Fullerton
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2019
Arely Acuña Avilez was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a Rossier Dean’s Fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education.
Before pursuing her doctoral studies, Avilez worked as a research assistant in the Office of Residential Life at UCLA where she conducted assessment and evaluation for the living-learning and theme communities. During her time at UCLA, she completed her master’s degree in student affairs and served as an intergroup dialogue facilitator. Avilez also earned her bachelor’s degree in international studies from UC Irvine, where she developed an interest in student affairs and research on higher education through her various involvements on campus.
Avilez was advised by Adrianna Kezar. Her research interests include student civic engagement, student organizations, and the educational experiences that contribute to the academic persistence of historically underrepresented students, particularly for immigrant and undocumented youth in higher education.
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Kaylan Baxter
PhD, Higher Education, University of Southern California, 2023
Kaylan Baxter was a fourth-year doctoral (Ph.D.) candidate in the Rossier School of Education and a former research assistant in the Pullias Center for Higher Education, both roles at the University of Southern California. Using critical organizational and race theory, she studied approaches to postsecondary accountability and data use, examining their implications for the opportunities, experiences, and outcomes of racially minoritized students. Her dissertation study explored the roles of agency and advocacy in race-conscious practice, within the specific context of institutional research.
She holds a B.A. in economics from Wake Forest University and an M.A. in education policy and social analysis from Teachers College at Columbia University. A decade of justice-oriented practice, across universities and academic affairs units, informs her research and teaching interests.
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Samantha Bernstein-Sierra
Assistant Director of Research and Academic Affairs, Joint Educational Project (JEP), University of Southern California
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2017-2018
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2012
Samantha Bernstein-Sierra is the assistant director of research and academic affairs for the Joint Educational Project (JEP) at the University of Southern California. In this role, she provides support to faculty partners, conducts and disseminates research on service learning and community engagement, and works with graduate research and teaching assistants to develop curricula for a wide range of undergraduate service learning classes. An attorney by trade, Sam is also a consultant and curriculum developer for JEP’s Pre-Law Project. For the last two years, she has been working with Susan Harris to develop graduate-level community engagement programs at USC, including the Engaged Graduate Education Learning Community which launched in January of 2018.
Bernstein-Sierra first came to JEP during her doctoral program as a graduate research and teaching assistant. After receiving her PhD in urban education policy from USC’s Rossier School of Education, she served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and continued to work with Susan and JEP on graduate engagement initiatives. She joined the full-time staff in the summer of 2018.
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Sharla Berry
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, California Lutheran University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2017
Sharla Berry is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership. Her research explores technology in K-12 and higher education. Topics of interest include technology and college access and online learning in postsecondary environments. Berry teaches a number of research methods classes.
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Genia Bettencourt
Assistant Professor of Higher and Adult Education, Department of Leadership, University of Memphis
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2020-2021
Dr. Bettencourt is an assistant professor of Higher and Adult Education in the Department of Leadership at the University of Memphis. Previously, she served as a postdoctoral research associate at the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California and the Center for Student Success Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst; a Master of Science in College Student Services Administration, and; Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, History, and Political Science from the University of California Davis.
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C. Dean Campbell
Upper School Principal and Interim Athletic Director, Salem Baptist Christian School
EdD, University of Southern California, Educational Leadership-Higher Education Administration Specialization, 2004
C. Dean Campbell is the School Principal at Salem Baptist Christian School. He has served as Assistant Dean for Academic Services in The Graduate College at North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT) from 2012 to 2020. He participates in leadership and management of the unit planning strategies and implementing enrollment activities for academic departments. Prior to coming to Salem Baptist Christian School, he worked for over a decade in a variety of administrator roles in graduate education, including Morgan State University’s School of Graduate Studies, the University of Southern California’s Graduate School, and USC’s Enrollment Services Division.
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W. Edward Chi
Instructor, Economics, Cerritos College
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2019
Edward’s research evaluates national, state, and institutional education policies and programs. He teaches economics at Cerritos College. Edward holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of California, Irvine, and a bachelor’s degree in management science and engineering from Stanford University. Edward’s Website.
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Michelle Castellanos
Adjunct Professor and Associate Director of Survey Research, Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support, Loyola Marymount University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Michelle Castellanos, Ph.D, joined IRDS in 2015 and serves as Associate Director of Survey Research and Adjunct Faculty within the School of Education. Prior to coming to Loyola Marymount University, Michelle served as a research associate and faculty member at the University of Southern California and Mount Saint Mary’s University. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education and Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California.
Michelle has substantial experience developing surveys and using survey data to examine students’ college experiences and subsequent learning, persistence, and career outcomes. Her scholarly work has been featured in the Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, and the Journal of Higher Education. As Associate Director of Survey Research, Michelle provides leadership and support in the areas of surveys and evaluations, research methods, and leads survey and institutional research studies in support of strategic planning and decision making.
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Randall F. Clemens
Assistant Professor of Administrative and Instructional Leadership, St. John’s University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2008
Randall F. Clemens is a research associate at the Pullias Center.
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Julia Colyar
Vice President, Research and Policy, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario
PhD, University of Southern California, Education, 2003
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2003-2004
Julia Colyar is the Vice President, Research and Policy at HEQCO, where she works with team members to support the development of research-based policies and practices in Ontario’s postsecondary education sector. Julia joined HEQCO with more than two decades of experience in higher education policy and research as a scholar, teacher and practitioner. Prior to joining HEQCO, Julia was Director of Policy and Sector Collaboration at the Council of Ontario Universities. She was also an assistant professor of higher education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the University at Buffalo, and taught graduate courses in student demographics and diversity, qualitative research methods and the sociology of higher education. Her research focused on access and transitions to postsecondary education for low-income and underrepresented students. Julia holds bachelor and master’s degrees in English from the University of California at Davis and the University of Toronto, and a PhD in Higher Education Policy from the University of Southern California.
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Zoë B. Corwin
Research Professor, Pullias Center for Higher Education
PhD, University of Southern California, Sociology, 2008.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2008-2012
Zoë B. Corwin is a faculty member at the Pullias Center.
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KC Culver
Assistant Professor, University of Alabama
Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2020-2022
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2019-2021
KC Culver is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama and a Research Associate at the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously, KC was a senior postdoctoral research associate at Pullias. She employs quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to study the impact of educational policy and practice on the development and success of diverse students. Her research focuses on policies and practices related to faculty, curriculum, and learning environments. She worked on two projects in Pullias: the PASS project and the Delphi Project.
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Patrick Dilley
Professor of Higher Education and Qualitative Research, and Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
PhD, University of Southern California, Higher Education, 2000
Patrick Dilley is a professor of higher education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he also holds an appointment in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. He earned a PhD from the University of Southern California, an MSEd from the University of Kansas, and a BA from the University of Central Oklahoma. Prior to his current post, Patrick served in a number of student affairs roles at the University of Kansas and Lewis and Clark Community College, including as a TRIO educator for at-risk minority youth in Topeka and at a juvenile correction facility; as an assistant director in the School of Education at the University of California Irvine; as research assistant at the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (now the Pullias Center) at USC; and as visiting professor at the University of Washington.
Most of Patrick’s scholarship centers around the history of students within U.S. higher education, particularly women and non-heterosexual students; he also writes about interview methodology within qualitative research. He is the author of Queer Man on Campus: A History of Non-Heterosexual Men in College, 1945-2000 (2002, Routledge), The Transformation of Women’s Collegiate Education: The Legacy of Virginia Gildersleeve (2017, Palgrave Macmillan) and Gay Liberation to Campus Assimilation: Early Non-Heterosexual Student Organizing at Midwestern Universities (2019, Palgrave Macmillan). His work has also appeared in Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, QSE: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Theory into Practice.
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Jude Paul Matias Dizon
Assistant Professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Education
PhD, University of Southern California, Higher Education, 2022
Jude Paul Matias Dizon is a former research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a provost’s fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
Dizon studied international development and Asian American studies at the University of California, Berkeley and holds a master’s in higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont. Prior to USC, Dizon worked in multicultural affairs and equity offices at Santa Clara University, Diablo Valley College, and the University of Maryland, College Park. He has also taught courses in Asian American studies and facilitated intergroup dialogues. Dizon has collaborated extensively with nonprofit organizations and the White Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders to advance educational equity.
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Julia Duncheon
Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, The University of Washington
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Julia Duncheon was an assistant professor in the educational leadership department of The University of Texas, El Paso who studies issues related to postsecondary transition for marginalized student populations.
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Araceli Espinoza-Wade
Project Director, Project PROMESAS, California State University, Channel Islands
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2012
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2015
Araceli Espinoza-Wade is the project director of Project PROMESAS at California State University, Channel Islands. Previously, Espinoza-Wade was a postdoctoral research associate at the Pullias Center for Higher Education, working with Drs. Adrianna Kezar, Darnell Cole, Kristan Venegas and Tatiana Melguizo.”
Espinoza-Wade earned her BA in American studies from University of California, Berkeley. Thereafter, she completed a ME in postsecondary administration and student affairs from the University of Southern California where she also earned a PhD in urban education policy. Her research focuses on the college experiences and outcomes of racial and ethnic minority (REM) students, first-generation college students, and REM students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. She has given multiple presentations at national conferences and has published her research in peer-reviewed journals. Espinoza-Wade was a Gates Scholar from 2002-2012, a 2012 Ford Fellow, and a 2015 semifinalist for the Outstanding Dissertation Competition of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education & Educational Testing Services.
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Monica Christina Esqueda
Faculty Developer and Graduate Program Coordinator, University of California, Davis
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2015
Monica Christina Esqueda is a member of the Learning and Teaching Support (LTS) unit at the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE). Prior to joining CEE, Monica was an assistant professor of higher education and community college leadership at Old Dominion University. As a faculty member, she served as the advisor for Higher Education Politics & Economics (formerly Academic Perspectives in Higher Education), a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal for political scientist, social scientists and economists who explore the politics and economics of higher education. She also served as co-investigator for three Department of Defense Education Activity grants and was recognized by Student Engagement and Enrollment Services for her teaching and service.
At CEE, Esqueda continues to explore and build upon her research and teaching expertise, which include the conditions and contexts that promote access, wellbeing and success across secondary and postsecondary learning environments; undergraduate and graduate student development; underserved student populations; research design; and quantitative and mixed method research. Monica has published work in Educational Researcher, Review of Educational Research and Teachers College Record. She was also invited to participate in the White House Convening of Operation Educate the Educators and the Los Angeles convening of the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Enriching America through the 21st Century.
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Kristen Fong
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2016
Kristen Fong was a senior researcher for the RP Group where she is involved in a number of equity focus groups and currently leads a research project that aims to identify strategies for increasing transfer among “high-leverage” learners–students who have completed all or most of their transfer requirements but who do not make it through the transfer gate.
Prior to working at the RP Group, she was a research analyst at Cerritos College. Fong’s postsecondary research has focused on policy-relevant topics related to California Community Colleges, from the Completion Agenda and its relation to developmental education, to examining statewide resource allocation models that may meet both equity and efficiency goals. Her dissertation titled, A Multi-Perspective Examination of Developmental Education: Student Progression, Institutional Assessment and Placement Policies, and Statewide Regulations, was awarded the RP Award for Excellence in Thesis/Dissertation in 2016.
She earned her BA in Economics and Psychology from Claremont McKenna College, an M.A. in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and a PhD in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California.
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Lisa Garcia
Project Policy Analyst, University of California, Office of the President (UCOP)
Ph.D., Education, University of Southern California, 2011
Research Assistant, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2007–2010
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2011–2013
Lisa Garcia currently works in University of California Office of the President as an analyst providing guidance to University administrators and faculty leaders on transfer admission policies and initiatives. Prior to joining UCOP, Garcia was the assistant director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education where she managed outreach programs for first-generation college students, and researched California’s postsecondary admissions policies and programs aimed at expanding access to historically underrepresented students. She began her career in the undergraduate admissions office at University of California, Los Angeles, where she worked closely with administrative leaders on special projects, admissions, outreach, and enrollment planning.
Sean Gehrke
Director of the Office of Educational Assessment, Adjunct Faculty, University of Washington
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Sean Gehrke is the director of the Office of Educational Assessment (OEA) at the University of Washington. As director, he provides leadership for the various functions of OEA (including research, assessment, and evaluation services; student course evaluations; and the UW testing center), engages and collaborates on select research and assessment projects and contributes guidance and support to the campus community for assessing the University’s achievement of its educational outcomes. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the UW College of Education. His training as an educational researcher and experience in institutional research and student affairs instilled in him a commitment to effective research and assessment to inform educational practice.
His work is published in Research in Higher Education, American Educational Research Journal, The Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development and Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and he has presented nationally on various topics, including faculty engagement with STEM education reform efforts, evolving faculty roles in higher education, outcomes-based assessment and college student development. He earned his PhD in urban education policy from the University of Southern California, his MEd in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland College Park, and his BA in psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.
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Ángel de Jesus González
Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at Fresno State University
PhD, University of Southern California, Higher Education, 2023
Ángel de Jesus González, Ed.D. (he/they/elle) is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at Fresno State University. While a postdoctoral scholar at Pullias, he supported the creation of the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT) funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and curriculum development for the Building Capacity Campus webinar series funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
As a self-identified first-generation queer, Latinx, joto, he engages their scholarship through critical paradigms and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Dr. González’s research agenda includes three strands; 1) examining the conditions, experiences, and outcomes for QT students; 2) Latinx Leadership and organizational change; and 3) equity policy implementation, all at community colleges.
Jarrett Gupton
Assistant Professor, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of South Florida
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2009
Jarrett Gupton is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the College of Education at the University of South Florida. His areas of expertise are in higher education policy and qualitative research methodologies. Mr. Gupton’s research agenda has two broad foci: equity and opportunity in higher education. Much of his work focuses on the experience of housing and food insecure students and issues of access, persistence, and completion in higher and postsecondary education. He has authored multiple publications on students experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, and foster care alumni in college. His scholarship highlights how social, cultural, and political structures constrain and enable educational equity and opportunity. His current research explores institutional capacity to support housing and food insecure students.
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Ronald Hallett
Professor of Education, La Fetra College of Education, the University of La Verne
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2005
Ronald Hallett is a former research associate at the Pullias Center.
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Jordan Harper
Assistant Professor, Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy and the School of Education and Urban Studies, Morgan State University
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2023
Theresa Hernandez
Postdoctoral Scholar, Northern Arizona University, College of Education
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2022
Theresa E. Hernandez is a former research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. She was also a Rossier Dean’s Fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education. Currently, she works as a Postdoctoral Scholar with Dr. Jennifer Blaney at Northern Arizona University in the College of Education.
Hernandez was born in San Francisco and attended Mission High School before spending more than a decade in New York City. She completed her bachelor’s in comparative ethnic studies at Columbia University and earned her master’s in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Karri Holley
Professor of Higher Education, The University of Alabama
PhD, University of Southern California, Higher Education, 2006
Karri A. Holleyis a professor of higher education at The University of Alabama. She earned a PhD and MEd from the University of Southern California, and a BA from The University of Alabama. Her research interests include organizational change in higher education, graduate and doctoral education, interdisciplinarity and qualitative inquiry. She currently serves as editor of Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. Her articles have been included in Educational Researcher, Higher Education, Innovative Higher Education, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education and Journal of Higher Education. Prior to her faculty career, she worked in graduate admissions at Pepperdine University; was a research assistant at the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (now the Pullias Center) at USC; and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine. Holley is involved in several NSF-funded programs that focus on increasing transfer student access to the bachelor’s degree; interdisciplinary graduate STEM curricula; and the development of transferable skills for doctoral students. Holley previously served as chair of the Special Interest Group for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education for the American Educational Research Association. She teaches courses for masters and doctoral level students on organization and governance, curriculum development and qualitative inquiry; several doctoral dissertations for which she served as chair have gone on to win institutional awards as well as recognition from professional associations.
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Liane Hypolite
Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2020
A Rossier Dean’s Fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education, Liane Hypolite was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the Center for Education, Identity and Social Justice. She currently is an assistant professor at California State Polytechnic University.
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Constance Iloh
Associate Professor, Department of Higher Education, Azusa Pacific University
Ph.D., University of Southern California,Urban Education Policy, 2015
Constance Iloh, PhD, explores the culture and business of postsecondary education and the consequences these infrastructures have on minoritized communities. Her work centers on (1) power, information, and opportunity asymmetries that cultivate stratified higher education experiences for students and faculty; (2), the cultural logics of college student consumer behavior; and (3), the possibilities of qualitative inquiry in the 21st century. As an anthropologist, Iloh is attentive to institutional culture as well as the interplay between a person and their environment.
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Alexander Jun
Professor of Higher Education, Azusa Pacific University
PhD, University of Southern California, Education Administration and Policy, 2000
Alexander Jun is a professor of higher education at Azusa Pacific University. He teaches PhD courses in diversity and social justice, as well as advanced qualitative research methods. He is the author of From Here to University: Access, Mobility, and Resilience Among Urban Latino Youth (Routledge, 2001). A TEDx speaker in 2012, Jun was a Global Fellow with the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) in Cambodia in 2010, and International Research Fellow at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, in 2016, and a Faith and Academics Scholar at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee in 2018. Jun is an associate editor of the Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences. He co-authored White Out: Understanding White Privilege and Dominance in the Modern Age (Peter Lang, 2017) and White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education in (Peter Lang, 2018).
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Suneal Kolluri
Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California Riverside Graduate School of Education
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2019
Suneal Kolluri was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a Rossier Dean’s Fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education.
Kolluri was advised by William G. Tierney and Zoë B. Corwin. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles, and his master’s from Stanford University. His research interests include college access and persistence for low-income youth and underrepresented youth of color, specifically how K-12 schools can promote equitable interactions between diverse students and affect 4-year college-going outcomes for marginalized populations.
Prior to attending USC, he was a high school social studies teacher for ten years — nine in Oakland public schools, and one as a student teacher in San Francisco Unified School District as a student teacher in the Stanford Teacher Education Program. He has received a number of accolades for exemplary teaching.
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Holly Kosiewicz
Director of Policy Development, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Holly Kosiewicz is the director of policy development at The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
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Michael Lanford
Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of North Georgia
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2013
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2017-2019
Michael Lanford was a postdoctoral research associate at the Pullias Center.
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Vincente Lechuga
Associate Professor, Educational Administration and Human Resource Development, Texas A&M University
Doctor of Education, University of Southern California, Educational Leadership, 2005
Vicente Lechuga received his doctorate of education from the University of Southern California in 2005. He joined the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University in fall 2005. Lechuga teaches graduate level courses in higher education administration, higher education policy and diversity issues in postsecondary institutions. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and authored and/or edited three books. His most recent book, “Qualitative Inquiry in Higher Education Organization and Policy Research” (Routledge, 2017) focuses on innovative ways to conduct qualitative research with regard to higher education policy and organizations. Lechuga currently chairs 10 doctoral committees, 12 master’s committees, and serves on several others.
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Jaime Lester
Professor, Higher Education Program, George Mason University
PhD, Education, University of Southern California, 2006
Jaime Lester, interim director and professor of the Higher Education Program at George Mason University, holds a PhD and MEd in higher education from the USC Rossier School of Education. Lester also holds a dual BA from the University of Michigan in English and women’s studies. She has received numerous awards for her research and teaching, including the Barbara Townsend Emerging Scholar Award from the Council for the Study of Community Colleges in 2009 and the Mason Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013. She was also the Mason state council rising star nominee in 2011. Lester is the editor of Community College Review and serves on the editorial board of Journal of Diversity in Higher Education and NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education.
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Mari Luna De La Rosa
Assistant Professor, Azusa Pacific University
Ph.D. Education (Higher Education, Claremont Graduate University, 2005
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2005-2007
Mari Luna De La Rosa has a variety of professional experience in higher education, including studying pathways to a college education for low-income students, administering financial aid services, and conducting institutional research. Luna De La Rosa teaches graduate courses in diversity and multiculturalism in higher education, college student learning and development, quantitative research methods and public policy in higher education. She recently co-edited a special issue of Christian Higher Education titled “Race, Religion, and Responsibility in Christian Higher Education.”
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Sable Manson
Assistant Director for Student Leadership and Development, JEP (Joint Educational Project), University of Southern California
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Sable Manson is the assistant director for student leadership and development for JEP (Joint Educational Project) at the University of Southern California. In this role, she supports JEP program assistants, coordinates with faculty, and provides professional development experiences for student leaders.
Born and raised in Southern California, Sable attended Loyola Marymount University where she earned her bachelor’s in television production. While at LMU, Sable discovered her true passion for education and went on to complete a master’s in post-secondary administration and student affairs from USC. Sable received her PhD from USC’s Rossier School of Education in 2015; her dissertation focused on an interfaith service-learning program called Souljourners.
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Jonathan Mathis
Executive Director, The Next Step Public Charter School, Washington, DC
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2012
Spanning both secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, Jonathan Mathis focuses his work in four key areas: educational leadership; organizational strategy; educational entrepreneurship and innovation; as well as college access and success. Currently, Mathis provides vision and leadership for a learning community serving over 400 opportunity youth (ages 16-24, previously disconnected from school or work) as they re-engage with secondary education and prepare for college and career aspirations. Prior to this appointment, he served as the inaugural director of the National Honor Societies at the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) where his efforts impacted nearly 2 million students, advisers, and school leaders annually. Mathis has also served as the director of education and training at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, where he was responsible for the professional learning and leadership preparation for more than 14,000 college admission professionals. He earned his PhD in Urban Education Policy at the University of Southern California, where he also served as an adjunct assistant professor in the Rossier School of Education. Mathis has also earned a bachelor of science in business administration from American University (DC), and a master of science in administration for educational administration (K-12) from Trinity Washington University (DC).
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Daniel Maxey
Chief of Staff, University of Northern Colorado
Provost’s Fellow, Office of the Provost, Santa Clara University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Daniel Maxey is a provost’s fellow in the Office of the Provost at Santa Clara University, where he manages special projects to support the academic priorities of the senior administration, including the university’s STEM Initiative. Previously, Dan was a Dean’s Fellow in urban education policy at the USC Rossier School of Education, where he was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. Dan holds a bachelor’s with a concentration in government from The College of William and Mary in Virginia, a master’s of education in higher and postsecondary education from the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education at Arizona State University, and a PhD in urgan education policy from the USC Rossier School of Education.
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Hope K. McCoy
Lecturer, Stanford University
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2021-2022
Hope K. McCoy is a former Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the USC Rossier School of Education. Dr. McCoy worked with the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project, a mixed-methods research study, specifically working on developing, assessing, and sustaining professional learning communities. McCoy’s research agenda also focuses on the intersection between education and diplomacy, with an interest in transnationalism, migration studies, and public policy. McCoy’s dissertation examined Russian Cultural Centers in Africa, identifying the ways that nation states and students use higher education to engage in critical geopolitics. A Fulbright scholar (2015-2016 Russia) with multidisciplinary expertise, McCoy has also worked as a research strategist at Harvard University on projects related to racial justice, equity, and inclusion. Dr. McCoy has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northwestern University and a master’s degree and PhD in Education from UCLA. Hope is currently a Lecturer at Stanford University, and a recipient of the Stanford VPUE Fellowship to Diversify Teaching & Learning.
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James T. Minor
Chancellor, Southern Illinois University
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2001-2004
James T. Minor, Ph.D. serves as the 10th Chancellor at Southern Illinois University. Previously, he was the Assistant Vice Chancellor and Senior Strategist in the Office of the Chancellor at the California State University (CSU). James was appointed to provide leadership to advance Graduation Initiative 2025, an ambitious institutional commitment to dramatically improve degree completion rates, facilitate faculty innovation, implement major systemwide policy reform and to improve legislative provisions for student success.
James also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. He was appointed by the Obama administration to provide overall leadership and administration for federal programs designed to expand access to higher education, strengthen institutional capacity and to promote postsecondary innovation. He was responsible for administering programs available for postsecondary institutions such as the State College Access Challenge Grants, GEAR-UP, Title III and Title V programs, The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), TRIO and others totaling nearly $3 billion dollars annually. Under his leadership, the Higher Education Program office was responsible for more than $7.5 billion in active programming across the nation and U.S. territories.
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Minor served as the Director of Higher Education Programs at the Southern Education Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia while holding a faculty appointment at the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. He served previously as an associate professor of higher education policy at Michigan State University and a Research Associate in the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California.
A native of Detroit, Dr. Minor earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Jackson State University, a M.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Educational Policy Analysis and Leadership. In 2010 he received the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education. His scholarly work has focused on academic governance, higher education policy and improving institutional performance. He is also a recognized thought-leader on higher education policy development as well as issues related to improving degree completion nationally. He has published numerous articles in journals such as the Review of Higher Education, Educational Researcher, Thought & Action, Academe, New Directions for Higher Education, and the American Educational Research Journal.
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Federick Ngo
Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Nevada Las Vegas
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2017
Federick Ngo is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He teaches in the master’s and doctoral programs in higher education. His research examines higher education policy, college transitions and the role of math in higher education. Prior to University of Southern California and academia, Ngo taught high school math in Oakland, California.
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Amanda Ochsner
Assistant Professor of Education, University of Findlay
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Curriculum and Instruction, 2015
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2015-2017
Amanda Ochsner is a former research associate at the Pullias Center.
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Paz Maya Olivérez
Vice President of Student Affairs, California State University, San Bernardino
PhD, University of Southern California, Educational Policy, 2006
Paz Oliverez is the Vice President of Student Affairs at California State University, San Bernadino.
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Elizabeth Park
Postdoctoral Scholar, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, University of California Irvine
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2019
Elizabeth S. Park is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning at University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include STEM education, higher education policy, and community colleges.
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Shirley Parry
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2016
At USC, Shirley researched the association between higher education structures and student loan default rate. She is currently devoting time to raise awareness and funds for the Orthopedic Institute for Children in downtown Los Angeles by training to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days in late January 2019.
Raquel M. Rall
Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of California, Riverside
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2014
Raquel M. Rall is an associate professor of higher education at the University of California, Riverside. Prior to that appointment she was a UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education where she earned her PhD in urban education policy. She obtained bachelor of arts degrees in human biology and African and African American studies from Stanford University. Her research is concentrated in two major areas: 1) leadership and governance of higher education and 2) college access. Within these two areas, Rall strives to identify best practices to increase access to and success in higher education for traditionally marginalized communities and on bridging research and practice. Rall has presented her work at national conferences including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association of Governing Boards. Her work has been published in the Journal of Negro Education and the Journal of Higher Education Management and has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the University of California.
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Stefani Relles
Assistant Professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2013
Stefani Relles conducts research that focuses on college access and equity for historically marginalized student populations. Her current lines of inquiry include language and digital inequalities. She is also interested in interdisciplinary research methods which draw on her extensive background in theater, film and television.
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Gwendelyn Rivera
Director of Equity Assessment and Evaluation, Division of Student Affairs and Success, University of California, Santa Cruz
Gwendelyn Rivera is a research project specialist at the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education. She earned her doctorate in human development and psychology from the School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. She also completed postdoctoral work at the City University of New York, Hunter College.
At the Pullias Center, Rivera was part of the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) Project, formerly known as the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities (TSLC) Study. Her work and interests include exploring the interaction between institutional practices and student behavior and its effects on college participation and completion, and the role of peers in educational contexts.
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Aireale Joi Rodgers
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Wisconsin-Madison
PhD., Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California, 2022
Aireale Joi Rodgers is a former research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a PhD graduate of the Urban Education Policy program at USC Rossier School of Education. She was advised by Julie Posselt. Currently, Aireale Rodgers is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the HEAL Project. She will continue to build a program of research using sociocultural learning theories and critical theories of racialization to examine how people and organizations learn. Specifically, she plans to explore how interpersonal and organizational learning can be organized and remediated to facilitate race-conscious, justice-oriented institutional change in higher education.
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Bryan Rodriguez
Director, Graduate Studies Resource Center, California State University, Long Beach
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Bryan Rodríguez has over 10 years of experience as a higher education professional. His work has focused on higher education administration, education research, student affairs, and teaching in higher education. He has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters addressing important topics related to college access, higher education policy, degree completion, and student persistence among Latina/o students. Dr. Rodríguez received his PhD from the University of Southern California in urban education policy. He holds a master’s degree in education policy and management from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in international development from UCLA.
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Jenna Sablan
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maryland College Park
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2015
Georgetown University, Assistant Researcher
Jenna Sablan is a postdoctoral fellow in the College of Education at University of Maryland College Park. She previously served as the inaugural 2016–17 American Educational Research Association/American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Fellow, where she worked on college affordability policy for the Senate Budget Committee. Her research focuses on college access and higher education policy. She received her PhD in Urban Education Policy and MA in Economics from University of Southern California, where she was a Provost Fellow, and her BA in Social Policy, BA in Political Science, and Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies from American University, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar.
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Margaret Sallee
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education, 2008
Margaret Sallee’s research focuses on the work culture of universities, examining the professional environment for faculty members on college campuses as well as the graduate student experience. She studies how gender and other social identities operate within the culture of higher education, and how men and women have different experiences, both within the professoriate and in graduate school. At the organizational level, she considers how the practices of various departments and the university as a whole produce a culture that privileges one gender over others. She frequently considers how individual experiences are shaped by the culture and practices of the institution.
Sallee is also interested in the ways in which faculty, staff and students navigate the demands of work and family, or other life obligations, and the role that the university plays in supporting people’s efforts. Her book, “Faculty Fathers: Toward A New Ideal in the Research University” (SUNY Press, 2014), explored the challenges that fathers—from assistant professors to endowed chairs—face in finding a work/life balance.
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Cecile Sam
Assistant Professor, Rowan University
PhD, Urban Education, University of Southern California, 2012
Dr. Sam is a qualitative researcher whose current focus is on the nexus between grassroots leadership, faculty work, and educational policy that spans K-20 contexts. She is particularly interested in the role ethics plays in these areas. Her previous work includes studies on non-tenure track faculty in higher education, program evaluation, and Common Core reform initiatives. Prior to joining Rowan, she was a research specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent seven years as a middle school History and English Language Arts teacher. Dr. Sam teaches courses for the doctoral program in Educational leadership. B.A., Philosophy and English, Loyola Marymount University; M.A., Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University; M.A., Education, Loyola Marymount University; Ph.D., Urban Education, University of Southern California.
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Deborah Southern
University of California Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles
PhD, Urban Education, University of Southern California, 2022
Dr. Deborah E. Southern is a University of California Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow with the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and Higher Education & Organizational Change program at UCLA. As a postdoc working with Dr. Mitchell Chang, she builds upon her dissertation findings to further learn how leaders notice and disrupt whiteness within their graduate schools and programs. Formerly Dr. Southern was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a Rossier Dean’s Fellow in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rossier School of Education.
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Elise Swanson
Senior Research Manager, Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2019-2021
Elise Swanson is a Senior Research Manager at CEPR, where she supports the analytic work for multiple projects. Prior to joining CEPR, Elise was a Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. At USC, she evaluated programs and policies designed to improve college access and student success in community college and four-year universities.
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Antar Tichavakunda
Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2018
Antar A. Tichavakunda is an assistant professor of higher education in higher education at the University of California, Santa Barbaea. Previously, he served as an assistant profin the School of Education at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Tichavakunda is a product of DC Public School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies from Brown University. Prior to his doctoral studies, Tichavakunda worked as an 11th grade English teacher in DC Public Schools. Using qualitative inquiry, Tichavakunda has engaged in research on college readiness, Black students’ experiences at predominantly White institutions, and more broadly the sociology of race and higher education. His published work can be found in The Educational Forum, The Journal of Negro Education, and Education and Urban Society. He is currently working on a book project about Black engineering majors’ experiences at an elite university.
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Kristan Venegas
Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty, University of La Verne’s La Fetra College of Education
PhD, University of Southern California, Education, 2005
Kristan Venegas is a former research associate of the Pullias Center.
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David Velasquez
Institutional Research Associate, Institutional Research and Decision Support, Loyola Marymount University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2022
David Velasquez is a Institutional Research Associate at Loyola Marymount University’s Institutional Research and Decision Support. Prior to that, Velasquez was a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and a Gates Millennium Scholar in the Urban Education Policy PhD program at USC Rosier School of Education.
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Cynthia D. Villarreal
Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Northern Arizona University
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2020
Cynthia D. Villarreal is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University. Previously, she was a visiting assistant professor at University of California, Riverside. Villarreal was a postdoctoral research associate in the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the Rossier School of Education. She is an interdisciplinary scholar who challenges issues of equity in higher education by examining and interrogating organizational processes, policies, structures, and culture through a race-conscious and feminist lens. She considers herself a qualitative researcher and storyteller in/on the borderlands who prioritizes counternarratives to critique and transform higher education.
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James Dean Ward
Researcher, ITHAKA S + R
PhD, University of Southern California, Higher Education Policy, 2014
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pullias Center for Higher Education, 2018
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Marissiko M. Wheaton
Assistant Dean and Director of SCORE, Scripps College
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2019
Marissiko is the Assistant Dean and Director of Scripps Community of Resources and Empowerment (SCORE) at Scripps College — a women’s college in Claremont, California. Prior to this role she worked at the Center for Urban Education (CUE) and Race & Equity Center at the University of Southern California as a Postdoctoral Scholar. In response to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, she organized a six-part webinar series which focused on racial equity in virtual classrooms and student support services. Marissiko is also an active community organizer, an Adjunct Professor and independent racial justice education consultant.
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Ji Zhou
Academic Director, Institutional Research and Data Analytics, USC Marshall School of Business
PhD, University of Southern California, Urban Education Policy, 2014
Ji received her Ph.D in education from USC. Ji’s research focuses on understanding and assessing how international and immigrant students succeed in college. Ji has published in peer-reviewed journals, including Higher Education, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal of General Education, Innovative Higher Education, and Journal of International Students. Applying research to practice, Ji started advising students since 2010. She is passionate about helping students not only get into but also succeed in college. When she is not advising students, Ji enjoys building statistical models to assess teaching and learning at USC Marshall School of Business, where she is the Associate Director of Institutional Research & Data Analytics. Before coming to the U.S., Ji was a college English teacher and received her BA and MA in English from Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China.
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