PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
UNIVERSITY TEACHING & DIRECTORSHIP
Spring 2024 - Present Assistant Professor Educational Foundations, University of Colorado Denver
Oversees Justice, Equity, and Diverse Identities EdD Program
Oversees Latinx Learners and Communities EdD Program
Faculty Advisor for Doctoral Students of Color Student Organization
EDFN 7400 Epistemologies
LDFS 7712 Learning and Human Development (JEDI Cohort)
CLDE 7310 Critical Race Theory: History, Theory, & Application* (JEDI Cohort)
Fall 2020-Fall 2023 Assistant Clinical Professor in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education, University of Colorado Denver
Oversees Latinx EdD Program
Faculty Advisor for Doctoral Students of Color Group
ThinqStudio Fellow
CLDE 4020/5020 Responsive Classroom Communities
CLDE 5030 Language Development for Multilingual Learners
CLDE 5160 History & Law of Bilingual & Immigrant Education
CLDE 1000 Language, Identity, & Power: International Perspectives
CLDE 1000 Language, Identity, & Power: International Perspectives (Online)*
CLDE 7310 Critical Race Theory: History, Theory, & Application*[1]
EDFN 4010/5010 Social Foundations & Cultural Diversity in Urban Education
CLDE 5040/7040 Social Justice Liberation: Rehearsal for the Revolution*
EDFN 7410 Power & Privilege: The Social Construction of Difference
CLDE 7320 (Re)Claiming Dominant Narratives: History, Education, and Activism in Latinx Communities*
STME 7030 Decolonizing STEM Spaces: Beyond Equity and Access* (Collaborated with colleague)*
Fall 2016 – 2020 Program Director and Graduate Research Assistant, Pathways2Teaching.
Spring 2018 Instructor – EDHD 1930 Community-based Field Experience and Seminar, SEHD, CU Denver.
Fall 2017 Instructor – CLDE 1000 Language, Identity, & Power: International Perspectives, SEHD, CU Denver
Fall 2017 Teacher Assistant - EDHD 1930 Community-based Field Experience and Seminar, SEHD, CU Denver
Fall 2016 Teacher Assistant - CLDE 1000 Language, Identity, & Power: International Perspectives, CU Denver
2014 – 2016 Assistant Administrator, Pioneer Technical Center, Madera County of Education.
2006 – 2016 Classroom teacher (6-12) in both public, charter alternative, and homeschool programs in California.
Areas taught: English and English as a Second Language (7-12), creative arts (7-12), and leadership (9-12).
2009 – 2012 Program Grant Coordinator and Director of Afterschool Programming (grades 2-5),
Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, San Francisco Unified School District: ExCEL, Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary, and ASPIRANET.
2006 – 2008 Counselor and Behavior Specialist, The Painted Turtle.
2001 – 2005 Educational Outreach Coordinator and Executive Assistant
Ruth B. Shannon Center for the Performing Arts, Whittier College.
2005 Team Teacher: Paradigm Shift in the Arts 300, Theatre and Communication Arts Department, Whittier College.
2004 Team Teacher: Freshmen Writing 101, Theatre and Communication Arts Department, Whittier College.
1999 – 2006 Educational Outreach Coordinator, Administrative Assistant, and Board Member
Inter-Community Blind Center of Whittier.
*Created course curriculum
SERVICE: UNIVERSITY
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Committee Member, 2021-Present
Leading “Our Voices” Initiative, providing listening sessions for marginalized students, faculty, and staff to share their experiences at CU Denver in a space purposefully created to elevate voices and be as safe a space as possible.
Doctoral Students of Color - Faculty Advisor, Spring 2020-Present
Faculty advisor for the Doctoral Students of Color student group at University of Colorado Denver. Responsibilities include mentoring board members, attending all meetings (membership, board, dean’s, committee, etc.), supporting students in developing and executing their annual research symposium, and supporting ongoing events each year including our invited speaker series, alumni events, and writing support events.
Fourteener Writing Summit with SEHD and Doctoral Students of Color – Organizer and Facilitator, Spring 2022-Present
Co-created, organized, and executed the Fourteener Writing Summit, a 14-day writing challenge where Doctoral students are grouped in a small writing cohort with a faculty mentor to build community, share resources and ideas, commit to daily check-ins, and to write daily. As the lead for this event, I recruited faculty mentors and supported their work by offering resources, email check-ins, and a debrief after the Summit (for both faculty and students). I co-lead this event with Dean Bauer and DSoC President Karen Jaramillo.
CLDE Hiring Committee – Spring 2022
Served on the hiring committee for CLDE in Spring 2022. Reviewed applications, interviewed applicants, offered campus tours, and supported the committee in hiring Ester de Jong (Full Professor).
Inclusive Excellence Council: Education, Curriculum, and Pedagogy – Summer 2022
Invited to the council by Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I and an SEHD colleague are supporting Dean Jefferson’s work in archiving models of inclusive and equitable curriculum and pedagogy from around the country and building a proposal for this work to move forward. Responsibilities also include presenting this work to the council, receiving feedback, making edits based on that feedback, and providing feedback to other groups within the council.
SERVICE: BOARD MEMBERSHIPS
Executive Officer, Core Member, and Co-Chair of Research and Development Grow Your Own Collective.
My work with this national organization includes speaking at conferences about Grow Your Own Teacher programs, strategies, and best practices; conducting site visits and research at affiliate sites including Seattle, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Waianae, Hawai’i; and Denver, Colorado; publishing work on grow your own models and critical frameworks for successful programming; and planning for and executing our national pre-conference for NAAC in 2019. Fall 2016–Present.
Co-President, Board Member, and Grant Writer Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc.
As part of my work with this international organization, I help to organize and host our annual conferences which includes event planning, conference proposal vetting and communications, organizing visiting artist residencies and volunteers, conducting events for our journal and research, and writing grants to continue our work. Additionally, I support ongoing virtual community events, international research presentation panels, and our peer-reviewed journal, among other board responsibilities. Fall 2018 – Summer 2023.
AESA 2022 Program Committee Member
Invited to join the AESA 2022 Program Committee and to support in reviewing proposals for the upcoming conference. Spring 2022-Present.
Editorial Board Member
Editorial board member of the Handbook of Research on Challenging Deficit Thinking for Exceptional Education Improvement, edited by Richard D. Williams, (2021).
Advising Board Member UnleashedTTT.
I serve in an advising role for UnleashedTTT, which is a non-profit organization aimed at rehabilitating at-promise youth in juvenile detention facilities through therapy work and trainings with service dogs. These youth are trained to work with and nurture therapy dogs and their in-facility trainings offer pathways to an occupation in the field once they have exited the facility.
SERVICE: INTER/NATIONAL CONFERENCES
Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed 2022 Chicago In-Person and Online Conferences
Hosting, chairing, and discussant for 3+ sessions throughout the day for online conference
Planning and organizing conferences from inception to execution with in-person and online conference teams
AESA 2022 Program Committee Member
Invited to join the AESA 2022 Program Committee by President Elect and Program Chair
Supports conference by reviewing proposals for the upcoming conference
Denver Venom Conference 2021 – Event Coordinator
Responsible for conference support and organization
Day of responsibilities include working with vendors, organizing volunteers, registration, and supporting additional event work as needed
AERA 2021 Conference – Chair
Students, Teachers, and Young Artists: Their Burgeoning Identities and Embodied Learning (Roundtable: SIG Advanced Technologies for Learning – April 8, 2021
Practical Approaches for Youth Mentoring (Roundtable: SIG Mentorship and Mentoring Practices – April 11, 2021)
Proposal Reviewer for AERA 2021 Conference – Mentorship and Mentoring Practices Sig.
Responsible for reviewing six paper proposals.
Proposal Review for PTO Journal 2020
Responsible for reviewing incoming article and artistic submissions to the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal.
Proposal Reviewer for AERA 2020 Conference – Mentorship and Mentoring Practices Sig.
Responsible for reviewing nine paper proposals and two symposium sessions.
Conference Proposal and Scholarship Reviewer Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed 2020 Conference.
Responsible for reviewing twenty international paper, workshop, and symposium session proposals, as well as reviewing scholarship applications from domestic and international applicants applying for travel and/or conference attendance grants.
Conference Proposal Reviewer Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed 2019 Conference.
Responsible for reviewing twenty international paper, workshop, and symposium session proposals, as well as overseeing the proposal submission process, corresponding with applicants, and submitting conference session acceptance letters to all invited applicants.
ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
Excellence in Teaching Award for 2024 (IRC Faculty), CU Denver, April 2024.
Mentorship & Mentoring Practices SIG Dissertation of the Year Award, AERA, April 2022.
Program Distinction: The Red Marble Apple, Madera County Office of Education, June 2015.
Inter-Society Council Leadership Award, Whittier College, May 2005.
Academic Distinction in Theatre and Communication Arts, Whittier College, May 2005.
Academic Distinction in The Whittier Scholars’ Program, Whittier College, May 2005.
Charles and Edris Cooper Endowed Drama Prize for the Outstanding Student in Theatre, Whittier College, May 2005.