I currently work as an institutional researcher at Moorpark College in the Ventura County Community College District, where I conduct labor market research and evaluate Career & Technical Education programs. Before coming to Moorpark, I was the Data + Information Specialist for the Social Sciences in the Center for Digital Liberal Arts at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. I hold a PhD in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California, where my principal advisors were Patricia Burch and Guilbert C. Hentschke. I also hold an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a B.A. in Music History and Literature from St. Olaf College.
Prior to becoming a student at USC, I was an award-winning conductor and high school band director in Las Vegas, Nevada, where my ensembles consistently earned superior ratings at state and regional music festivals. I am strongly committed to improving the diversity of higher education, and I have spent the better part of the last twenty years working in and around educational opportunity programs. I have worked with education policymakers in three states to craft and implement high-impact legislation and education policy aimed squarely at creating more inclusive educational opportunities for marginalized and minoritized students from ethnically, racially, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse communities.