QT Latinx Higher Ed Collective

Ed.D. from Community College Leadership, San Diego State University

Biographical Sketch: As a self-identified first-generation queer, joto, Latinx scholar, Dr. Ángel de Jesus Gonzalez’s passion lies in making a difference in their comunidad through education. As a son of immigrant parents, Guadalupe y Miguel Ángel, partner to loving partner Luis, the brother to three sisters, a tio to seven nieces and nephews, their familia are the foundation and pillars of their successes. Dr. Gonzalez received their Ed.D. in Community College Leadership from San Diego State University (SDSU). Dr. Gonzalez was an Ingural Summer Pedagogy Fellow at The Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies (BBQ+) and is an Adjunct Faculty at Fresno State University in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership within the Kremen School of Education & Human Development. They work as lead Research Associate for the SEMILLAS Research Team and recently served as a Graduate Research Associate for the American Council on Education (ACE). Recent scholarly accolades include their current selection to the University of Texas at Austin, Project MALES Graduate Scholars Program and the TELACU Graduate Fellowship. Most recently, Ángel was awarded the 2021 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Inaugural Doctoral Student Award, the 2021 NASPA Region VI Graduate Rising Star, and the 2020 NASPA Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community Outstanding Doctoral Student award.

Research Interests: 1) conditions, experiences, and outcomes in community colleges for minoritized students with an emphasis on LGBTQIA+ and Latinx students; 2) Latinx Leadership; and 3) racial equity policy implementation at community colleges.

Recent Pubs:

Examining Servingness at California Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) for LGBTQ+ Latinx Students

Policy Implementation as a Tool for Advancing Equity in Community College

Exploring the Role of Women as Validating Agents in Latino Male Transfer Success

Using Institutional Planning to Support Men of Color in Community College

Queering Community College HSIs: An Environmental Scan of Current Programs and Services for Latinx Students

Colorado State University, Ph.D. Candidate, Higher Education Leadership Program

The Claremont Colleges, Assistant Dean of Students & Director of the Queer Resource Center

Biographical Sketch: Bri is a Capricorn, first-generation student, neurodiverse Latinx trans masc non-binary, and queer scholar born and that currently lives on the unceded land of the Tongva peoples. Bri earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from California State University, Fullerton (Sociology and American Studies), a Masters of Education from The Pennsylvania State University, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Colorado State University in the Higher Education Leadership program. Bri is the Program Director of the Queer Culture and Resource Center at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and is an Adjunct Faculty in the Ethnic and Women’s Studies department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he teaches Diverse Genders and Sexualities, and Race, Gender, and Law intersectional courses.

He is also a Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program Fellow within the California State University system Chancellor’s Office and an American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Inc. 2021 Graduate Student Fellow. Bri is currently doing research on race consciousness in holistic admissions at selective institutions, the gender binary in admissions, and the insider/outsider experience of queer and trans Latinx/o people in higher education. Bri’s dissertation research is focused on the lived experiences of transgender staff of color who report discrimination in higher education.

Research Interests: gender binary, transgender, nonbinary and queer populations in higher education, masculinity, policy, queer and trans Latinx populations in higher education

Recent Pubs:

A Möbius Model of Racialized Organizations: Durability of Racial Inequalities in Admissions (2023)

Queer, Trans, and Brown in Higher Education: The Outsiders Within? (2023)

A Conversation with Bamby Salcedo (2022)

Encyclopedia of Queer Studies in Education: Gender Based Microaggressions (2022)

Boston College, 1st Year MSW/PhD in Social Work

Biographical Sketch: Gabi is a first year Ph.D./MSW student in Social Work at the Boston College School of Social Work, where she is mentored by Dr. Maggi Price and Dr. Maria Piñeros-Leaño. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Political Science and International Development Studies in 2018 and a MA in Higher Education and Organizational Change in 2019. Prior to joining BC SSW, Gabi worked as a Research Analyst for UCLA Equity Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Education and Information Studies and as a Community College Counselor for DSPS at Citrus College in Glendora CA. Gabi’s core research interests focus on further studying how biopsychosocial mechanisms underpin the effects of various types of stigma on trans populations, eating disorders, and culturally adaptive interventions to work with gender and sexual minority Latinx populations.

Research Interests: Latinx Populations, Trans Populations, Mental Health, Intersectionality, Eating Disorders, Stigma and Discrimination, Interdisciplinary Research, and Mixed Methods Research

Pennsylvania State University, 5th year Doctoral Candidate, Higher Education

Biographical Sketch: Gabriel Pulido was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and first became involved with creative writing in the youth poetry slam scene. While at UC Santa Cruz Gabriel utilized classroom lessons to fuel his creative writing endeavors. Currently, he is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in Higher Education (with a double minor in African American and Diaspora Studies & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) at Pennsylvania State University. Gabriel considers himself to be a transdisciplinary scholar whose work often travels across multiple fields. Ultimately, Gabriel seeks to perform the work while honoring the rich histories and legacies that scholar-activists have fought for. Presently, Gabriel has three lines of research commitments: 1. Artistic Performance and Retention in Higher Education 2. Mentorship, Relationality, and Belonging and 3. Arts-based methodologies and activism in social science research. Gabriel’s academic and creative writing often intersect and find a home at the center of healing. Gabriel considers himself a conjurer of joy, love, and resilience, as he uses both creative and academic writing to work toward collective liberation. When not writing, Gabriel can be found near a body of water dreaming of becoming just as free.

Research Interests: Trans of Color communities and experiences, performance studies in education, and activism in education

Recent Pubs:

We Deserve More than this: Spirit Murdering and Resurrection in the Academy

Toward Gender-Inclusive Postsecondary Data Collection

The University of Texas at Austin, PhD Student, Program in Higher Education Leadership

Biographical Sketch: Gabriel Rodríguez Lemus, Jr. is a second-year doctoral student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership (PHEL) at The University of Texas at Austin with a graduate portfolio in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and Women and Gender Studies with a specialization in LGBTQ+ Studies. He is a Graduate Research Assistant for Project MALES, as well as a teaching assistant for the Department of Educational Psychology. He is a 2021-2022 Chancellor Doctoral Incentive Program Fellow with The California State University. Prior to attending UT Austin, Gabriel earned his M.S.Ed. in Higher Education & Student Affairs from Indiana University Bloomington and his B.A. in Sociology, concentration in Community Change from San José State University. Gabriel’s work engages, complicates, & interrogates the ways LatinX masculinities is understood, specifically for Queer LatinX collegians when navigating academe as it relates to their gender, ethnicity, sexuality, & (dis)ability. His work employs anti-colonial, postcolonial, and critical theories. He is a qualitative scholar that seeks to use participatory action research, critical ethnography, photo elicitations, and testimonios.

Research Interests: LatinX Masculinities in Higher Education, Latinx/a/o Doctoral Student Experiences at Hispanic Serving Institutions, Queer XicanX & LatinX Student Development, Qualitative Research Methods, specifically Visual Based Methods

Recent Pubs:

Queer Students Navigating the Academy: LGBTQ+ Mentoring Practices at IUPUI

Florida Atlantic University, Ph.D. Candidate, Educational Leadership

Biographical Sketch: Gary Santos Mendoza (Él, He, Him, His) is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University. Born and raised in New York City, He serves as the Director of the Intercultural Resource Center. He also engages as an Instructor in the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) at Rutgers University-Newark. Gary has a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration from Florida International University and Bachelors of Science from St. John’s University. His identity as a scholar-practitioner is critical to his work to bring connection and advancement in higher education through his Queer Latino Lens. His experiences being first-generation, Queer, Latino, and living with mental health concerns has provided opportunities for narratives to college students and in spaces with the administration while mixing in theoretical, conceptual, and holistic approaches to prepare the next generation of lideres. His experiences include student activities, LGBTQ issues, leadership education, civic engagement, fraternity and sorority life, conflict resolution, justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. His professional associations include leadership position in the American College Personnel Association – College Student Educators International (ACPA) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) His written works are featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and the publications: No Ways Tired: The journey of Professionals of Color in Student Affairs and Handbook of Research on Leading Higher Education Transformation With Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion. His first co-edited book Heartwork: the Handbook on Surviving and Thriving of Cultural and Identity centers in Higher Education in 2024. Gary hopes to achieve through the credential of the Ph.D. and his continued career in higher education that it is OK to be yourself, take the time you need to learn, and be a lifelong learner to help others in intersectional communities.

Research Interests: Latinx and LGBTQ+ undergraduate students and their experiences at a public research institution, mental health concerns, queer centers, intersectionality, and social justice

Recent Pubs:

Surviving the Continued Assault of Cultural Centers: Building Capacity During Crisis

Coping with Mental Health Concerns amid COVID-19

Latinx Network Writers Group: Demystifying the Writing Process for Scholar-Practitioners

Queer Latinx ... Yep We're Here

Testimonios of Entry-Level Latina/o/x Student Affairs Professionals

Presidential Postdoctoral Associate University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

Biographical Sketch: My name is Roberto C. Orozco, a Presidential Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. I obtained my PhD in Higher Education from Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Additionally, I obtained my graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as part of my doctoral degree.

Research: My research explores questions around race, gender, and sexuality, student activism, college student development, and queer resistance and world making in and outside of higher education contexts. I ground my work at the intersection of Jotería Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Chicana/Latina Feminisms to examine the identity and socio-political consciousness of queer Latinx/a/o student activists in higher education. I am particularly interested in how queer Latino/a/o college students engage in forms of resistance that allow for self-development and consciousness and allows for building queer kinships and material possibilities.

Personal and Professional Experience: I was raised in Sioux City, Iowa, and honor my journey growing up in the Midwest, where I had the opportunity to obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and International Business along with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Iowa State University. I then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Higher Education from Florida State University. After obtaining my master’s degree, I became the Director of the Center for Social Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where I oversaw and directed co-curricular student programming and social justice education. In this role, I actively worked with student activists on and off campus to hold the institution accountable to support students who are historically and perpetually marginalized on campus. When I am taking breaks from reading and writing you can find me in my home state of Iowa con mi familia or traveling the world!

Recent Pubs:

Constructing Meaning of the Term Latinx: A Trioethnography through Pláticas

Centering Queer Latinx/a/o Experiences and Knowledge: Guidelines for using Jotería Studies in Higher Education Qualitative Research

Imagining the Future of Jotería Studies as a Framework in the Field of Higher Education

Claremont Graduate University, 4th year Doctoral Candidate, Higher Education and Student Affairs

Biographical Sketch: Sergio A. Gonzalez is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Educational Studies Program at Claremont Graduate University. He just received his M.A. in Applied Gender Studies on the way to the Ph.D. He earned his M.Ed. in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from the University of Southern California (USC) and his B.A. in Communication Studies from Manhattanville College. Sergio writes from the core of who he is: joto, Latinx, feminist, hijo de a first-generation Madre and Mexican Immigrant Padre, jotería scholar, activist. As Lorde (2007) states, “I HAVE COME to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood” (p. 40). For this reason, his connection to Jotería (queerness) derives from his experiences navigating the Ivory Tower and trying to understand where he can exist within that space. As a scholar/activist, he focuses on co-creating counternarratives of queer Latinx/a/o individuals within higher education.

Research Interests: Jotería pedagogy, social justice, undocumented/Dacamented students, and Queer Latinx students in higher education

Recent Pubs:

Radical Jotería-Muxerista Love in the Classroom: Brown Queer Feminist Strategies for Social Transformation

Centering Queer Latinx/a/o Experiences and Knowledge: Guidelines for using Jotería Studies in Higher Education Qualitative Research

Jotería Identity and Consciousness: Pláticas of Co-Creation with Undergraduate Queer Latinx Students

Imagining the Future of Jotería Studies as a Framework in the Field of Higher Education

Imperial Valley College, Interim Associate Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Equity, and Student Success; San Diego State University, 4th Year, Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Community Colleges

Biographical Sketch: Yolanda Cataño is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in San Diego State University’s Ed.D. in Community College Leadership Program. She serves as Cohort Infinity’s (12) leader. Yolanda earned her M.A. in Sociological Practice and B.A. in Women’s Studies at California State University, San Marcos. Currently, Yolanda serves as the Interim Associate Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Equity, and Student Success at Imperial Valley College (IVC), a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). IVC is located in the border region between Calexico, CA and Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico., both of her hometowns.

Her passion for HSIs is infused in the work that she does in and outside of academic spaces. Her community advocacy and engagement as an advisor for the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center has been instrumental in bridging her commitment to scholarship and her comunidad. Yolanda also serves as a council member for the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) as the VP of Governance by providing guidance and support for the organization's constitution, bylaws, and overall future vision. Lastly, Yolanda’s involvement and commitment to equity, social justice, and diversity are heavily influenced by relationships she’s helped create and nurture throughout the years.

As a proud first-generation, queer, Latinx scholar and practitioner, Yolanda intends on using this scholarship as an incentive to give back to the students who will be participating in her study, but also as a way of “paying it forward.”

Research Interests: Hispanic Serving Institutions, LGBTQ+, Queer, Intersectionality, Latinx

Recent Pubs:

Queering HSIs: An Environmental Scan of Community Colleges

Examining Servingness at California Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) for LGBTQ+ Latinx Students