Gabrielle Elizabeth Bernal
Gabrielle (Gaby) Elizabeth Bernal is a former special education teacher. Gaby was born and raised in California and taught in the Bay Area for six years before pursuing a Ph.D. to strengthen her skills in supporting and mentoring teachers. She is currently a Doctoral
Candidate in Educational Studies in the teaching and teacher education track with a focus on mathematics education at the School of Education. Her research interests center on systems and ways of knowing by exploring teachers’ and students’ mathematical multimodal discourse and embodied experiences. Her interdisciplinary work is rooted in performance studies and culturally sustaining education in formal and informal math learning spaces in the community, at home, and within schools.
Saraí Blanco Martinez
Saraí is a 5th year PhD Candidate in the Combined Program of Education and Psychology as well as a Master’s student in the School of Social Work, in the Community Change pathway. Her research focuses on how Latinx immigrant communities experience and embody radical healing. She finds joy in dancing, cooking, and spending time in nature with her two dogs, Nala and Cookie.
Victoria Vezaldenos
Victoria Vezaldenos is a second year student in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and a 2023 NASEM Ford Predoctoral Fellow. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Minor in Education Studies and in 2022 completed her Master’s in Educational Studies with a focus in Program Evaluation and Improvement Research at UM. She is interested in exploring ethnic-racial identity development processes for multiracial adolescents and young adults. Her work aims to develop a reliable measure of critical multiracial ethnic-racial identity to allow for wider-spread use of quantitative methods in the field of multiracial ERI development.
Oluwaseun Oyindamola Ogunleye
Oluwaseun is a second year Master’s student of Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Equity, Justice, and Social Transformation. She also earned a certificate in Learning Experience Design at the Marsal Family School of Education. Her interests stem from Linguistic and Educational Equity, and examining how Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) can transform educational outcomes for youths with minorized identities. She is currently learning Mandarin and is always looking for avenues to practice.
Alumni (Graduate RAs): Amanda (Mandy) Finn, Sydney Kayne, Stephanie Miller-Tejada, Kate Morman, Sasha Mejía, Oscar Ramirez, Delina Zapata, Erika Mendez, Casta Guillaume, Bryan Montano Maceda, Mo Torres