Research Assistant
PhD, Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California (in progress)
M.Ed, Educational Counseling, University of Southern California
B.A. Sociology, UC Riverside
Contact Info
Research Interests
College access and equity | Nexus between education and criminal legal system | Justice-involved youth
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Maritza E. Salazar (she/her/ella) is a PhD student in the Urban Education Policy program and a Research Assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. She is advised by Adrian Huerta in the Higher Education concentration.
Her interests bridge the K-12 and higher education pipeline and explore the relationship between education and the criminal legal system. In particular, she is interested in college access and equity for justice-involved youth and for youth attending continuation high schools.
Maritza holds an M.Ed in Educational Counseling from USC and a B.A. in Sociology from UC Riverside. She has volunteered with the Prison Education Project where she has facilitated courses inside the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, CA and at the Custody to Community Transitional Reentry Program in Santa Fe Springs, CA. She served as the co-director for the USC Underground Trojans where she assisted with an annual scholarship opportunity for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students at adult and juvenile facilities.