Experience

Mirror Group LLC

• United States
• Business Consulting and Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Associate Consultant, Research & Evaluation

  • Jun 2022 - Present

  • Collaborate with researchers and cross-disciplinary teams in the creation and execution of mixed-method data collection tools, data analysis, and report writing to sunset a $60 million portfolio and identify subsequent product and service creation. • Accelerate research activities of a 3-year partnership by implementing digital data collection tools that facilitate the creation of journey maps, theories of change, and digital storytelling to capture the value-added of services and programs. • Provide and lead technical input and guidance for the planning and implementation of large scale, multi-year, multi-site program evaluations using mixed method approaches • Identify advanced and innovative program evaluation approaches to enhance the robustness and utility of evaluation findings. Show less



El Valor Cicero Children & Family Center

• Policy Advocate

  • Sep 2021 - Jun 2022

  ▪ Work cross-functionally with internal and external stakeholders to represent 4,000 families during policy decision making processes, providing feedback on strategic planning and allocation of resources. ▪ Serve as the delegate to the board of directors, participating in monthly meetings to discuss effectiveness of practices and policies and identify ways to improve organizational impact and community outreach. ▪ Synthesize key findings from assessment efforts regarding programming on levels of literacy, child development, emotional regulation, and parental engagement to improve the effectiveness of leadership and teaching practices. Show less



University of California, Davis

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate and Student Parent Programs Coordinator

  • Sep 2020 - Aug 2021

  ▪ Developed the online retention program model to engage 22,000 students to create a sense of belonging during distance e-learning, managing the budget, vendor contracts, and program assessments. ▪ Designed the inaugural needs assessment to identify opportunity gaps in resources and services, including the creation and execution of the survey, interview, and focus group protocols. ▪ Partnered with cross-functional teams to build workflow processes to support 2,500 student parents.

• Lead Researcher and Project Manager

  • Jan 2015 - Jul 2021

  • Conducted 1,000+ surveys, 400 interviews, and reviewed 2,000 archives regarding the Latino immigrant experience in homes, workplaces, and public spaces to discern for improvement in engagement strategies yielding a 23% increase in student retention. • Designed and facilitated usability studies, working with designers and product managers to define study goals, including the completion of 30 usability observation sessions (remote/in-person), to identify improvements in the access and delivery of web-based services and programs that support the educational and career pursuits of Latino students and communities.• Coached 20 stakeholders to complete a 10-year strategic plan that delineated program improvement, student satisfaction, and DEI goals through the facilitation of evaluative activities at community townhalls, data presentations, and student engagement events. • Hired, managed, and developed training for a 10-person research team to improve operations workflows.• Presented findings and recommendations at 8 national and 3 international conferences, resulting in an invitation to serve as a visiting scholar at 2 universities to assist with student success initiatives. Show less

• Researcher

  • Sep 2018 - Jun 2021

  ▪ Assisted the director with conducting an independent audit of protocols, programming, and literature regarding Independent Black Institutions to design high impact practices that support Black communities. ▪ Oversaw project deliverables and status reports for a 2-year program evaluation of a community effort to reduce Black child deaths, serving as a contributing author in the final 300-page report. ▪ Coached 20 stakeholders using excellent communication and interpersonal skills to complete a 12-volume publication, facilitating 15 meetings, and developing 2 shared databases. ▪ Distilled 250+ artifacts with complex information into 8 categories and 16 thematic codes, using Microsoft Suite, graphics, Canva, and archival review. Show less

• Associate Instructor

  • Jun 2016 - Jun 2020

  • Served as a subject matter expert in higher education, race and ethnicity, retention and success, leveraging active knowledge and scholarly networks to create the curriculum for courses that examined race/ethnicity, equity, justice, and transformation.• Maximized course completion rates by linking stated learning goals for educational learning theories and psychology to real-world examples and storytelling, which led to active engagement and increased satisfaction for 10,000+ learners. • Leveraged technology-based educational products to scale high-impact digital learning classes and resources that met both learner and organizational needs, accessibility standards, and flexibility of schedules. Show less

• Success Coach

  • Jan 2018 - Jun 2018

  • Applied a strengths-based approach to establish personalized plans and monitor educational goals for 30+ undergraduate students. • Referred students to campus and external resources; accompanied students to appoints, made phone calls, and sent email messages.

• Project Manager

  • Apr 2015 - Dec 2017

  • Expanded the range of methods used by the binational (USA/Mexico) research team to include surveys, click tests, card sorts, and unmoderated studies to develop baseline data and metrics keen to cultural and linguistic differences that prompted the creation of new marketing campaigns, product development, and service provision in 3 new sectors of education innovation. • Executed 30 focus groups, 40 interviews, 2 surveys, and day-long observations in Spanish at a 3-day convening focused on Indigenous Mexican immigrants to solidify a 10-year research agreement between 200+ stakeholders representing 30 universities.• Managed a 20-person Spanish-speaking research team including the creation, translation, and execution of Spanish-language protocols, findings, analysis, and written reports that were culturally relevant and attended to the immigrant experience. • Served as the liaison for the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento, CA, establishing 2 mentorship programs for Mexican origin youth that focused on college and career paths. Show less

• Project Manager

  • Jun 2016 - Jun 2017

  • Oversaw an 80-committee membership that was part of the Transforming Graduate Admissions initiative launched with cross-disciplinary faculty groups at UC Davis, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC Riverside to query the graduate admissions process and related research, to craft an inclusive graduate admissions model.• Facilitated 20 bi-weekly committee meetings and 3 system-wide events for 200 campus partners, including oversight of all logistical and budgetary aspects.• Wrote and edited reports, policy briefs, and white papers that were used for the successful submission of a $1.5 million funded grant project.• Managed 4 online inventories and 2 databases used to inform decision making. Show less

• Education and Training Coordinator

  • Sep 2014 - Jun 2015

  • Established the inaugural curriculum for and facilitated 25 workshops designed to equip 25,000 employees and 35,000 students with practices and policies to increase the retention of undocumented students by 21% within first year of launch.• Developed and coordinated a webinar series to address internal bias of 227,000+ employees to advance DEI strategic priorities resulting in the creation of an immigrant-focused ERG and marketing campaign to improve organizational culture. • Led a 15-person advisory board charged with improving practices and policies to support undocumented communities through the implementation of research and data management activities to discern for opportunity gaps, internal bias, and discrimination. • Recruited, onboarded, and supervised a 10-person team responsible for humanizing the undocumented student experience through the moderation of speaking engagements at 20 professional development training sessions, 5 community events, and 10 webinar presentations. Show less



California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls

• United States
• Public Policy
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Legislative Analyst

  • Jun 2018 - Mar 2019

  ▪ Managed engagement with 4 senior state legislatures to operationalize racial and gender equity language within policy making processes, resulting in the creation of a database for 2 legislative cycles (2016-2017, 2017-2018) that attended to systemic inequity in oral and text format. ▪ Wrote policy briefs used regarding opportunity gaps in legislation in the areas of education, employment, and health, serving as an author in the 2019 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California. ▪ Facilitated ideation process at local and state level meetings to ensure alignment between organizational mission and external partnerships. Show less



Waubonsee Community College

• United States
• Higher Education
• 500 - 600 Employee

• Academic Advisor

  • Jan 2014 - Aug 2014

  • Provided bilingual advising and counseling services to a cohort of 85+ new and 200+ continuing first-generation, low income students. • Applied cultural and linguistic techniques during course selection, transfer advising, and financial literacy. • Provided bilingual advising and counseling services to a cohort of 85+ new and 200+ continuing first-generation, low income students. • Applied cultural and linguistic techniques during course selection, transfer advising, and financial literacy.



Northern Illinois University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Assistant Director of Programming and Communication

  • Jun 2012 - Jan 2014

  ▪ Increased the enrollment of diverse student populations by 23% and employee diversity by 45%, exercising equity-centered strategic planning and recruitment practices to improve operational processes. ▪ Designed a programmatic model to engage and retain 25,000 students, including the facilitation of 60 retention programs and 30 academic programs, managing partnerships with 100+ vendors.▪ Led the first interdisciplinary team to implement campus residential life policies and 40 experiential opportunities for 120+ residents, executing risk management to foresee impact to workstreams.▪ Persuaded 240,000 stakeholders and investors to engage in events, programs, and sponsorship opportunities by increasing the collaboration with cross-functionally teams in marketing, enrollment, and policy, to develop mission-driven content for 60 print materials and 5 online platforms. Show less

• Project Manager

  • Jul 2011 - Jun 2012

  ▪ Organized the first state-wide convening for 60+ K-12 teachers, education administrators, and government officials to craft policies and practices to support 200,000+ undocumented students across schools in Illinois. ▪ Co-edited the inaugural educator training manual that identified best practices and high impact policies to support undocumented students, managing the coordination of 20 contributing authors across 12 organizations and oversight of the design and marketing processes. ▪ Re-designed Latino Parent University, a 12-week bilingual workshop with the goal to empower 30 parents of first-generation Latinx students, to successfully navigate educational K-12 systems and plan for their college aspirations. Show less



U.S. Department of Education

• United States
• Government Administration
• 700 & Above Employee

• Educational Consultant

  • Oct 2010 - Oct 2011

  ▪ Planned and marketed community events to engage and retain 2,700 transfer students using social media. ▪ Led and revised course for 20 mentors on best practices and ethics for positive mentor/mentee experiences. ▪ Recruited and admitted 50 mentees from across California using holistic application review and pairing. ▪ Planned and marketed community events to engage and retain 2,700 transfer students using social media. ▪ Led and revised course for 20 mentors on best practices and ethics for positive mentor/mentee experiences. ▪ Recruited and admitted 50 mentees from across California using holistic application review and pairing.



University of Illinois at Chicago

• United States
• Higher Education
• 1 - 100 Employee

• College Adviser

  • Jun 2009 - Jun 2011

  ▪ Developed 4 academic support programs for 4,000 first-generation, low-income students across 2 school districts, exercising culturally and linguistically relevant strategies to achieve learning outcomes, improve 1-1 individual and group counseling sessions, and increase college acceptance rates by 30%. ▪ Crafted curriculum and leveraged subject matter experts, adult learning principles, and web-based learning management systems to develop and revise 40+ workshops, 20+ parent outreach programs, and 60+ university partnerships. ▪ Designed and translated (English/Spanish) 200+ communication materials, 3 educational blogs, and 4 social media platforms to increase the engagement of 20,000+ users, providing educational consulting services. ▪ Empowered 260+ sponsors to revise their scholarship eligibility guidelines in order to consider undocumented student applicants, increasing the financial award packages of 150+ students by 20%. Show less