Welcome to my page! I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). My research centers around three strands: Latina/o/x students in community colleges, especially those who need developmental education; college faculty, teaching, and professional development; and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. I teach graduate courses in qualitative research methods, current issues in higher education, and the history and philosophy of education in the United States. I was previously a faculty member in the School of Education at Iowa State University (2016-2024), where I earned tenure in 2022.

I am a proud Tejana born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and earned all my degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). I received a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership from UTSA in 2015. My dissertation received the 2016 Dissertation of the Year Award from the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC).

In another life, I was a student of history (M.A., 2008; B.A., 2006) and worked in various positions at the University of Texas at San Antonio. As an undergraduate, I was an Orientation Leader and a Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader for the Tomas Rivera Center for Student Success. After completing my master's, I taught as an adjunct instructor at Northeast Lakeview College from 2009-2016.

My work has been published in venues including Race Ethnicity and Education, The Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, College Composition and Communication, and Teaching English in the Two-Year College. I currently serve on the editorial boards of The Review of Higher Education, Community College Review, The Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, and New Directions for Community Colleges. I am also an Associate Editor for The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.​