Experience
Current Role
Graduate Student Researcher (Aug. 2022 — Present)
STEM Learning Lab, School of Education, University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
Principal Investigator and Mentor: Andres Bustamante, Ph.D.
The Readiness Through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE) project, a research-practice partnership between UC Irvine, Tufts University, the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), and the Santa Ana Early Learning Initiative (SAELI)
Developing and implementing a culturally relevant preschool curriculum aimed at enhancing scientific learning by harnessing Latino/x families’ funds of knowledge.
Applying a strength-based, home-to-school approach to redefine family-school partnerships, highlighting the role of Latino/x families’ home-based practices in children’s development.
Conducting research on leveraging the funds of knowledge within Latino/x families to inform the creation of culturally meaningful and engaging early STEM learning experiences.
Contributing to the design and execution of professional developments (PD) delivered to preschool educators.
Conducting regular site visits to preschool classrooms and assessing how teachers are integrating Latino/x families’ funds of knowledge in science experiences.
Designing and facilitating family leader capacity trainings in collaboration with SAELI, emphasizing the role of parents as equal partners in early STEM education.
Interviewing teachers to foster strong collaborative relationships and gather essential qualitative data.
Co-constructing strategies with cohort 1 educators (2023–2024) to enable them to gain deeper insights into families’ funds of knowledge, and implementing the RISE model with cohort 2 educators (2024–2025).
Coaching cohort 1 educators on how to integrate home-based information into science experiences for children.
Supporting professional learning communities (PLCs), promoting ongoing collaboration among educators.
Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) project, a community-based research initiative in partnership with Latino/x families from SAELI.
Facilitating and designing bilingual (English & Spanish) co-design sessions with Latino/x families and clinic staff, with the aim of creating a learning environment within a clinical setting that promotes well-being by leveraging the Latino/x families' health practices Latino/x families.
Fraction Ball, a playful learning math intervention for elementary school students, situated in a primarily Latino/x, community.
Synthesized interview, focus group, and survey data collected from teachers and identifying factors that stakeholders (e.g., teachers, students) identify as essential for the success of the intervention.
Work resulted in co-authorship on a paper published in the International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Research Experience
Graduate Student Researcher (Aug. 2022 — Aug. 2024)
School of Education, University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
Principal Investigator and Mentor: Adriana Villavicencio, Ph.D.
Research-Practice Partnership with Internationals Network, a national network of 22 district-run public schools and 13 academies designed to serve immigrant English-learners.
Supported a three-year cross-case comparative study of 8 Internationals Academies (IAs) located in four districts and regions, including Northern California, Southern California, New Jersey, and Virginia.
Led bi-yearly field visits to study sites in Southern California.
Conducted various forms of data collection, including semi-structured interviews & focus groups with school leaders, teachers, and other staff members; and observations of teacher meetings and classrooms.
Helped create and refine a qualitative codebook and code qualitative data in Dedoose.
Mentored undergraduate students in qualitative methods.
Disseminated our findings through academic conferences, public media outlets, and academic papers.
Collaborated with research team conducting the impact analysis of the IAs to support broader mixed-method study.
Graduate Student Researcher (Aug. 2020 — Sept. 2022)
NIH BUILD PODER, California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA)
Direct Supervisor: Patricia Escobedo, Ph.D.
Worked on an undergraduate research training program for minoritized students in STEM, examining the experiences of 300+ students.
Created, managed, and analyzed a longitudinal survey database administered to participants.
Explored the qualitative responses and linked the patterns to the results of the quantitative survey portion, identifying program features that bolstered participants' scientific identity.
Work resulted in a second-author paper accepted to the Public Library of Science.
Results indicated that undergraduate research experiences (UREs) implemented remotely and using a hybrid format can provide students with experiences similar to in-person URE programs.
Graduate Research Assistant (Aug. 2020 — Aug. 2022)
Pathways C-Lab, Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA)
Principal Investigator & Mentor: Gabriela Chavira, Ph.D.
Investigated the educational experience of undocumented college students, examining how government policies (e.g., DACA, AB540) support this student population.
Developed focus group protocols, conducted focus groups, and learned how to identify salient patterns within the qualitative data.
Post-Baccalaureate Researcher (Aug. 2019 — Aug. 2020)
Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential, University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
Principal Investigator & Mentor: Michael Mrazek, Ph.D.
Studied an intervention that used scientific research to help high school students focus their attention and manage their emotions.
Interviewed CA health teachers (30+), coded their qualitative interview data, and utilized these patterns to inform recruitment and study materials.
Work resulted in co-authorship on a paper published in Education Sciences.
Results indicated that online interventions could be a scalable way of addressing the rising rates of distraction and stress among teens.
Undergraduate Research Assistant (Jan. 2019 - Aug. 2019)
LIME Lab, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
Principal Investigator & Mentor: Emma Geller, Ph.D.
Worked on a statistics learning experiment, examining how features of a statistical problem can be manipulated to reduce cognitive load.
Gained data entry and analysis skills by identifying specific statistical concepts within qualitative responses and quantifying the presence of these concepts.
Industry Experience
Consultant (September 2024 - Present)
Center for Racial Justice in Education (CRJE), Bronx, NY
Direct Supervisor: Olga Pagan, Ph.D.
CRJE trains and empowers educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in educational spaces. In this project, CRJE collaborated with a predominantly Latino/x school district consisting of 25 schools.
Conducted focus groups with Latino/x middle and high school students to understand their perspective on how racism shows up in their school environment, how it is currently being addressed (if at all), and how they think it should be addressed.
Cleaned, managed and organized survey data from 25 schools, including responses from 9,800 students, 1,000 educators, and 1,800 families.
Performed data analysis using statistical methods, including means and ANOVAs, in R.
Coded, analyzed, and synthesized qualitative data from focus groups with students, school leaders, and teachers.
Contributed to detailed school reports highlighting current efforts to promote racial justice and offering actionable recommendations for improvement.
Consultant (May 2024 - August 2024)
WestEd, CA
Direct Supervisors: Jennifer Marcella-Burdett, Ph.D., and Lynneth Solis, Ph.D.
WestEd is a nonprofit research and development agency focused on improving education and supporting social and economic development through research, professional development, and technical assistance.
Created a resource list with educational resources and professional development materials to support early STEM learning.
Teaching Experience
Instructor (August 2023 - May 2024)
Joobilo Academic Community, Fountain Valley, CA
Joobilo is an academic community catering to homeschool parents with a foundation in classical education.
Developed the first semester of high school curriculum for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, incorporating hands-on lab projects aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Taught Biology to 1st and 2nd grade students. Engaging them with hands-on activities and a science framework grounded in best educational practices.
Developed and taught "Unlocking Engineering Marvels," designed for K-6th students, which provided students with hands-on exposure to engineering principles.
Co-instructor for High School Science, including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Responsible for aligning the curriculum with hands-on lab projects to reinforce class concepts effectively.
Teaching Assistant (June 2023 - Sept. 2023)
School of Education, Master's of Arts in Teaching Program, University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
EDUC 248: Teacher Agency (Master of Arts in Teaching Program): Course trains teacher candidates to write a research paper and present it to their peers and educators.
Assisted candidates in connecting academic research to real-world classroom practices.
Helped candidates conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis of data they collected.
Provided feedback on students' drafts, data analyses, and final inquiry papers.
EDUC 364 A: Instructional Design and Education Technology for the Elementary Classroom (Master of Arts in Teaching Program): Course trains teacher candidates in integrating educational technologies into elementary classroom lessons and activities.
Aided students in exploring a variety of educational technologies and online tools.
Supported active classroom discussions on the practical application of technologies, aligning with California's Teaching Practice Standards (TPEs 3, 4, and 5).
Assisted in grading, offering feedback on discussion boards, assignments, and presentations.
STEAM Instructor (March 2022 - Sept. 2023)
Dreams for Schools (Santa Ana, CA)
Mobile App Development/AppJam+ program (6th-8th grade)
Taught students the technical process of mobile app development.
Engineering Inventors (3rd-5th grade).
Introduced students to engineering principles through hands-on projects.
Coding Games with Scratch (3rd-5th grade).
Instilled students with foundational coding skills using the Scratch platform by MIT Media Lab.
Coding with Sphero (1st-3rd grade).
Guided students in block-based coding, overseeing their programming of robotic spheres.
Instructor (July 2022 - Aug. 2022)
NIH BUILD PODER, California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA)
Designed and led an intensive summer research program to teach undergraduate researchers key skills in research design, data collection, analysis, and presentation.
Facilitated workshops on qualitative research methods, statistical techniques, and data analysis.
Guided students through projects that required the application of foundational research designs and statistical analyses.
Mentored students in preparing and confidently presenting their research findings at academic conferences.
Teaching Associate (Aug. 2020 - June 2022)
Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA)
Instructor of record (i.e., faculty member) for Introduction to Psychology (PSY 150), creating all instructional materials, including curriculum, syllabi, activities, quizzes, and exams.
Undergraduate Instructional Apprentice (Jan. 2019 - June 2019)
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
Supervisor: Angela Lowe, Ph.D.
Independently directed a discussion section by mastering fundamental concepts of introductory statistics and cognitive psychology.