To close us off on our AERA Latina/o/x SIG highlights, the soon-to-be Dr. Lizarraga. Thank you for serving as the Co-Communications Chair over these past 3 years. As you transition off, we are sad to see you go, but excited to keep your branding legacy going!
¡Gracias, Armando!
We continue to highlight our FFP leadership team with Dr. Hermen Díaz III, Assistant Professor at SUNY Buffalo. His research centers on belonging, equity, and liberation for Latinx men in higher education. Gracias for your service!
GSFP Leadership Highlights continue with Armando Lizarraga, PhD candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. His research centers on incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students and on expanding access to higher education.
¡Gracias, Armando!
Highlighting our FFP leadership team, starting with Dra. Melissa Navarro Martell of SDSU (located on Kumeyaay land). She promotes equitable bilingual STEM & prepares critically conscious multilingual educators, advocating for anti-racist & decolonial change in math & science education. Gracias!
Wrapping up our FFP shoutouts with Dra. Jovita Murillo. Her work centers on advancing health equity by addressing the social and structural determinants impacting marginalized communities, with a focus on gender and racial inequities.
Read more about Dra. Murillo here: bit.ly/4aURLQU
We’re continuing with our FFP highlights with Dr. Mario A. Muñoz, Asst. Prof. of Kinesiology at Sam Houston State University. His research centers on physical activity in diverse populations & innovative AI applications in exercise science.
Read more about Dr. Muñoz here: bit.ly/4rFV0Sf
Reflecting on the ASHE Conference in Denver, CO, over the past few weeks, we are proud to see our faculty fellows participating, sharing impactful work, and fostering a sense of community. We are even more grateful for a fellowship that supports this dedication to community.
Curious about the AAHHE GSFP? Join us on Thursday, Dec. 11th, from 2 pm to 3 pm ET, for a webinar exploring the evolving GSFP, intentional inclusion, and the future of belonging in Latinidad within graduate education.
RSVP here: bit.ly/4qRprEy
See you there!
Continuing our FFP highlights with Dra. Audrey D. Paredes, Asst. Prof. at CSU San Marcos. Her work uplifts HSIs as spaces of transformative change and leadership. Felicidades, Dra. Parades.
Read more about Dra. Paredes here: bit.ly/4i5ppoI
Wrapping up our GSFP spotlights with Francheska Jimenez, an Afro-Dominican Ph.D. student at Teachers College, Columbia Univ., from the Bronx, NY. Her research explores Queer students of color & identity development within MSIs. Congrats, Francheska!
Read more about Francheska here: bit.ly/3WDcyjI
Continuing our FFP highlights with Dra. Melina Melgarejo, Asst. Prof. at San Diego State University. Her work centers on bilingual special education, autism, and creating equitable, culturally responsive services for bilingual learners.
Read more about Dra. Melgarejo here: bit.ly/4oIJy6F
The GSFP spotlight is on Monique Posadas, a PhD candidate in Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, who focuses on the success of minoritized graduate students. Congrats, Monique!
Read more about Monique here: bit.ly/4nplgwL
The FFP spotlight is on Dra. Jasmin Patrón-Vargas, Asst. Prof. in Teaching, Learning, & Culture at Texas A&M Univ. Her research centers on how Ethnic Studies teachers shape policy, pedagogy, & sharing of ancestral knowledge in K–12 classrooms.
Read more about Dra. Patrón-Vargas here: bit.ly/4hzV7Ks
GSFP highlights continue with Xiomara V. Medina, a Boricua Ph.D. student in Counselor Education at Bowie State University. She’s passionate about mental health equity, culturally responsive education, and Black & Brown solidarity in higher ed.
Read more about Xiomara here: bit.ly/3L04OWt
FFP highlights siguen con Dra. Trisha Martínez, an Asst. Prof. of American Studies at the Univ. of Wyoming. Her work centers on cultural memory, migration, healing justice, and amplifying the creativity & voices of those impacted by incarceration.
Read more about Dra. Martínez here: bit.ly/48Ithtg
#TheEDULedger is pleased to present this year’s class of Rising Graduate Scholars, calling attention to the stellar work of rising stars among the ranks of hard-working graduate students.
Learn more about these scholars: bit.ly/49lxQts
Continuing our FFP Highlights with Dr. Anthony Peña, an Asst. Prof. of Environmental & Science Education at Cal Poly Pomona. His work bridges critical pedagogy, science, & environmental education through an interdisciplinary lens. ¡Felicidades!
Read more about Dr. Peña here: bit.ly/4n2aNHr
Hola! wanna get involved with AERA Latinx Leadership? Now’s your moment! We’ve got open positions & we’re looking for passionate folx ready to lead.
More info: Dr. Rachel Gomez at gomezr3@vcu.edu
Deadline: Oct 20, 2025
❤️👏🏽🥳 So well-deserved, Armando! 🥳👏🏽❤️
This feature hits different. 🤎 Gracias to @theeduledger.bsky.social for shining a spotlight on me, my work, fellow scholars, and the heartfelt efforts we all share to humanize the academy.
Congrats, Armando! Well deserved and such a great highlight.
Armando Lizarraga's (@alizarraga310.bsky.social) supporters say his research as a doctoral candidate in educational leadership and policy at The University of Texas at Austin offers valuable insights into the intersection of incarceration, gender, and student debt. #RisingGraduateScholars
Siguimos con the FFP highlight with Dr. JC Lugo, an Asst. Prof. in Chicana/o Studies in Educational Leadership at CSUN. His research examines the schooling conditions of Latino boys & men through the lens of critical race theory & masculinity studies.
Read more about Dr. Lugo here: bit.ly/3WtNoDR
I’m honored to be featured as a Rising Graduate Scholar in this issue of Diverse Issues in Higher Education. I am grateful to everyone who made this possible, especially to my community, which pushes me every day to keep doing the work I do.
Continuing our highlights with Eleanor “Ellie” Estrada, a jota activist-scholar & first-gen Ph.D. candidate in Communications at the University of Utah. Their work centers Latine/x discourse in chisme, brown trans rhetorics & barrio urbanism. Congrats!
Read more about Ellie here: bit.ly/4nRjINn
The AAHHE Faculty Fellows Program kicked off its first meeting last Friday. We are excited for what’s ahead with this amazing group of colegas.
Not everyone made it into the picture, but trust us, it was a full house.
FFP highlights continue with Dra. Marjoris Regus, Asst. Prof. of Music Education at Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick. Her work centers on culturally responsive pedagogy, reggaetón, & the bicultural/bilingual experiences of AfroCaribbean music students.
Read more about Dra. Regus here: bit.ly/3IGMyAm
We continue our GSFP highlights with Jeremy A. Rodríguez Vargas, a PhD student in Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras from Ponce, PR. His research focuses on developing antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer drugs. WEPA!
Read more about Jeremy here: bit.ly/42aITS4
FFP highlights siguen con Dr. Sergio A. Gonzalez, Asst. Prof. of Higher Ed at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. His research centers QTPOC experiences in education, shaped by Jotería Studies, Women of Color Feminisms & Queer of Color critique. Felicidades!
Read more about Dr. Gonzalez here: bit.ly/3IfChew
Our FFP highlights continue with Dr. Carmen Serrata, an Asst. Prof. of Higher Education at UNC Charlotte. Her research focuses on postsecondary experiences of marginalized students & family roles across the P–20 pathway, using asset-based approaches.
Read more about Dra. Serrata: bit.ly/4pfA8QF