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Div G Graduate Student Executive Committee
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STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

Ronald Cunningham | rocunnin@iupui.edu
Indiana University–Indianapolis
Senior Graduate Student Representative

 

Ronald Cunningham is a dual PhD candidate in the Indiana University Indianapolis School of Education and law student at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.  His research agenda is situated at the intersection of race, policy, and education.  His dissertation explores the impact of anti-CRT legislation on cognitively rigorous primary and secondary teaching and learning.  In addition to his current role as the Division G senior representative, Ronald is a full-time K-12 educator, teacher evaluator, and graduate editor/assistant to the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.  

 

 

Kristina Johnson-Yates | 
Indiana University–Indianapolis
Junior Graduate Student Representative

Kristina Johnson-Yates is a 3rd year Doctoral Student in the Urban Education Studies program at Indiana University Indianapolis. Her roles as a graduate teaching and research assistant, social worker, yoga instructor, and diversity and inclusion trainer/consultant have shaped her understanding of the importance of representation and acceptance. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences from the University of Florida and a Master of Social Work from Indiana University. Her research interests include Black feminist studies, Queer theory that focuses on lesbian identity development, and the intersecting notions of student success.

 

 

 

The GSC comprises three subcommittees: (a) Executive Committee , (b) Campus Liaisons , and Writing Group Facilitators. 
You can find a brief description of each subcommittee’s goals and information about its members below.

Executive Committee

 

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Carl Donovan Greer | cdgreer@wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
 

Carl “CJ” Greer is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a doctoral minor in Qualitative Research Methodology in Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Leveraging critical qualitative approaches, Greer’s research explores three areas: (1) the relationship between community-based educational spaces and PreK-12 schooling institutions, (2) how youth display leadership and activism in and outside the classroom, and (3) Critical Race Theory in education. Greer is a UCEA Barbara L. Jackson Scholar, Institute for Research on Poverty Fellow, and Morgridge Center for Public Service Fellow. Currently, Greer’s dissertation labor takes up a year-long critical ethnographic case study approach in offering insights into the limited exploration of the greater Milwaukee area PreK-12 education landscape and Midwestern youth education activism. Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Greer earned his BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a dual master of Educational Leadership and Policy and Social Work at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.

 

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Darlshawn Patterson | University of South Florida

Darlshawn (Shawn) Patterson is a doctoral student and Graduate Student Success Fellow in the literacy studies program at the College of Education, University of South Florida (USF). Her research interests align with her passion for equity and inclusiveness in literacy education. Specifically, her focus lies in exploring how educational laws and policies shapes students' literate pathways, with a specific emphasis on literacy assessment and instruction for minoritized intermediate youth. Outside of her academic work, Shawn enjoys traveling, staying active, and spending time with her friends and family. 

 

Logan Phillips| Northwestern University

Logan Phillips is a doctoral student in the Black Studies PhD program at Northwestern University. Logan’s work in community education programs and political organizations guide the intellectual, ethical, and material commitments central to her research and scholarly goals writ large. Drawing on an understanding of the significant changes in the formal U.S. schooling system in response to the Cold War, her research focuses on how this era, its policies, and enduring systems of anti-radicalism and fearmongering impacted Black political education spaces and radical educators/educational activists. She holds a Master of Arts in Black Studies from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in African & African-American Studies and Sociology from Washington University in St. Louis. She is also an artist and avid listener of Digable Planets and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Sanjukta Sarkar | University of Arizona

 

Sanjukta Sarkar is a South Asian feminist and fourth-year interdisciplinary PhD scholar in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona; studying to major in Diversity & Social Justice in Education with an emphasis on Migration and Education and double minor in Literacy and Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory. She holds a Masters in English Literature from the University of Calcutta and worked with diverse communities as a former English and Public Speaking teacher. Presently she works as the managing editor of the Journal of Environmental Education; serves on the board of Women Founders Collective; and has formerly served on the boards of AZTESOL and Doctoral Student Innovative Community Group, LRA. She was awarded the College of Education Erasmus Circle Scholarship for 2023-2024 and the 2023 Summer Institute Fellowship in Anti-Racist and Decolonizing Research Methods at George Mason University, and has held a Jewell Lewis Scholarship for Literacy Acquisition, Development, and Pedagogy between 2021 and 2023. Through a 2023-2024 Paul Lindsey internship with the Borderlands Education Center and Make Way For Books, she has been developing and facilitating a literacy curriculum for families-in-transit at Casa Alitas, Tucson’s migrant shelter system. She recently received the 2024 Mellon-Fronteridades Graduate Fellowship to build on this work and address her burning questions on mobile pedagogies and feminist resistance in mobility and displacement.




 

 

Nathaniel Smith | University of Colorado Denver

Nathaniel Smith (he/him/his) is an EdD student in the Leadership for Educational Equity in Higher Education program at the University of Colorado Denver. He locates his research within Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality as theoretical frameworks to examine the interplay between Black men and higher education with the aim of promoting anti-oppression and educational equity in the social and structural context of doctoral education. Recognized for his educational leadership across New York State, Nathaniel is a proud Bronx, NY native with Southern roots and ancestral ties to West Africa. An ordained minister, Nathaniel is married with four children, and is a 2024 Asa G. Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore Research Course on African Americans in Education inductee and fellow.

 

Marie Wagner | University of Kansas

Marie L. Wagner is a researcher and teacher educator committed to transforming educational practices through a critical disabilities studies lens. Currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas, Marie’s research explores the power of teacher critical reflection to create inclusive and equitable literacy learning environments, particularly for students with disabilities. Her work is grounded in a belief that education should empower students to embrace their identities and unique cultural repertoires. With a background in teaching and policy, Marie is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches that challenge traditional narratives and advocate for the rights of students with disabilities. Through her research, she aims to inspire educators and policymakers to reimagine what inclusive education can look like in today’s diverse classrooms.

 

 

Mark White | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mark is a fifth-year doctoral student in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis program, concentrating on Policy Analysis and Evaluation. His research examines the effects of school choice policies on public school districts, focusing on how regional and national political dynamics and various forms of school choice influence opportunities for children and families from historically excluded communities. He explores how these factors, alongside patterns of within-district white and middle-class flight, reshape funding streams and drive disinvestment in public schools and how these patterns influence school leaders' efforts to cultivate community in racially and socio-economically segregated neighborhoods.


 
 

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Jiadi Zhang | University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

Jiadi Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Language and Literacy Education program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign. She is multilingual and speaks Mandarin, English, Korean, and Japanese. Zhang’s research interests include exploring Chinese-English translanguaging, bilingualism, critical biliteracies, teacher education, and language ideologies. Her work is guided by a sociocultural perspective that acknowledges minoritized communities’ daily literacy and cultural practices conducted with different modes and across named languages as legitimate knowledge. She believes the cultural, linguistic, and historical knowledge students bring into the classroom could leverage their learning.


 

Campus Liaisons

Meet our brilliant campus liaison team! This subcommittee works directly with campuses to form connections with individual institutions to facilitate networks of Division G graduate students!

Meredith Bittell | University of Kansas

Meredith Bittel is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS). She received her MS in architectural engineering from the University of Kansas and worked as a professional engineer in Seattle and Kansas City before joining the Peace Corps as an education volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. Her research focuses on equity and justice in STEM education policy and practice, with a particular emphasis on decolonizing science and advancing social outcomes of science education. She is especially interested in international research contexts and participatory feminist methodologies. Outside of her academic pursuits, Meredith is a mother of two young children and enjoys cycling, traveling, gardening, and cooking.

 

 

 

Celina German

 

Celina German | Arizona State University

Celina German is a first year doctoral student in the Learning, Literacies, and Technology program at Arizona State University. At Kenyon College, she completed her undergraduate degree in History with specializations in Women’s and Gender Studies and African Diaspora Studies. With her M.Ed. in Secondary Education, German taught 11th grade English Literature in Phoenix’s West Valley (Avondale, AZ) and led her school site’s Black Student Union. As a teacher researcher, German explores how district funding, teacher preparation programs, and community partnerships intersect in promoting racial identity development in afterschool programs. Utilizing Youth Participatory Action Research methodology, she focuses on how young people of color co-construct critical consciousness and racial self-efficacy with educators. After graduating, she hopes to become a professor of education. Apart from her scholarly activities, she loves visiting National Parks, making pottery, and training for supersprint triathlons. 

Boyun Kim | Oakland University

My name is Boyun Kim. This is my fourth year as a doctoral student in the Early Childhood Education program at Oakland University. I would like to introduce myself as a mixed-methodologist. I have a strong background in statistics as well as qualitative work. My cognate, or concentration, is in statistics. I completed courses at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) program at U of M during the summer of 2023. These courses included Regression 1, 2, and Data Science and Text Analysis. Since entering my Ph.D. program, I have authored six papers, three of which relied on big data methods such as Social Network Analysis. Currently, I work as a graduate teaching and research assistant at Oakland University. In these capacities, I work as both a statistician for the OU William Beaumont School of Medicine and as a qualitative researcher for the Teacher Development and Educational Studies department. I developed the coding scheme for core teaching practices to provide effective science teacher education by using ATLAS.ti. Moreover, I am in the SRCD Towards 2044: Horowitz Early Career Scholar Program 2023 cohort as a scholar. For future research, my interest is in the Evaluation/Assessment of Early childhood education policies, systems, and funding.   

 

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Adriana Martinez Calvit | Ohio State University

Adriana is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Psychology program at The Ohio State University. Her research examines the intersections between culturally relevant education and student motivation. She’s passionate about research that informs teacher practices so they can improve the learning experiences of culturally diverse students. Before she began her doctoral program, Adriana worked with education nonprofit organizations on policy and communications. 

 

 

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Ángeles Muñoz | University of North Texas

Ángeles Muñoz, a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience, is a professor at The University of North Texas. Her career includes leadership roles such as International Baccalaureate Program Coordinator, Adjunct faculty at UNT, Graduate Research Associate at TWU, and teaching roles in both One-Way and Two-Way Dual Language settings. 

She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Literacy, Language, and Culture at Texas Woman's University (TWU), and her Graduate Certificate in Biliteracy underscores her commitment to academic excellence. She also holds a Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (2014) and a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (2009) from the University of North Texas.

As a dedicated educator, she has been widely recognized for her significant contributions to the field. She has received multiple travel scholarships and awards, including TWU's prestigious Pioneras/ELLevate Scholarship. Her experience in critical biliteracy, translanguaging, and the empowerment of emergent bilinguals has been shared at international, national, state, and local conferences. Her extensive teaching experience across various grade levels and her unwavering commitment to advancing the education of emergent bilinguals have established her as a leader in fostering inclusive and asset-based educational practices for linguistically diverse students.

Ángeles Muñoz' research centers on the cognitive advantages of bi/multilingualism, critical biliteracy development, assessment practices for emergent bilinguals, and language policies that support multilingualism. Her commitment to establishing educational environments that honor and promote students' multicultural and multilingual assets is unwavering. Her passion is to advocate for equitable educational practices.

 

 

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Yingyuan Sun | University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Yingyuan Sun is a Ph.D. student in International Education at the Department of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she is focusing on international education and social justice education. She is an administrative associate and the co-coordinator of the Youth Board at the Center of Racial Justice & Youth-Engaged Research. She works with youth from Western Massachusetts on youth leadership building and reformative education. She has organized and facilitated events for the Youth Board, with guest speakers from across the country, such as Dr. Bettina Love, and Dr. Christopher Emdin. Yingyuan’s research interests explore educational inequity, educational globalization, intergenerational language shift, language decolonization, and language healing. She also works on hierarchy decolonization, critical autoethnography, and critical discourse analysis.

 

Susan Vander Sloot | University of Michigan-Dearborn

Susan Vander Sloot is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Building on her experience in the K-12 classroom, school and nonprofit administration, business, and parenting, her research areas of interest include public pedagogy, career and technical education, and continuous improvement. Susan currently serves as a grant administrator at Grand Valley State University Kirkhof College of Nursing where she is facilitating implementation of new programming in simulation education. Susan’s publications include “Reality Check,” observations on student hybrid/online learning. Susan’s dissertation explores how craft education can develop social-emotional and academic competencies in children. Susan holds a Bachelor in Business Administration and Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education from Western Michigan University and Education Specialist from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Taylor Wynne | Ohio State University 

wynne.64@buckeyemail.osu.edu

 

Taylor Wynne (she/her) is a first year PhD student at The Ohio State University where she is pursuing a degree in Educational Studies with a concentration in Higher Education Student Affairs. Taylor’s research agenda centers three main foci: (1) The intersection of race, gender, and class in the lives of Black women and girls; (2) Racial battle fatigue and healing; and (3) Campus racial climate at Predominately White Institutions. At OSU, Taylor is currently on fellowship where she is working on a book chapter that examines the role of gender and policy in higher education. Additionally, Taylor is a member of the Drake Institute for Teaching as Research cohort at Ohio State University. Prior to joining OSU HESA, Taylor attended the University of Florida where she received her M.Ed. In Higher Education Student Affairs.   

 

Writing Group Facilitators

 

Eloise Findlay | Florida Atlantic University

Eloise Findlay is a doctoral student in Curriculum & Instruction at Florida Atlantic University.  Eloise's research centers on systems, structures, strategies, and tools to support the success of graduate students.  Her research interests include tracking students in our educational system and its impact on non-dominant communities.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Art in Reading in Education from Florida Atlantic University. 

 
 
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Division G Graduate Student Council 
 Senior Representative

The Senior Representative serves a one-year term, leading the Council in all of its efforts to support and provide resources to Division G graduate student members. The Senior Rep also acts as the liaison between the Council and the Division’s Vice President and executive cabinet leadership, as well as the AERA Graduate Student Council.

 Junior Representative

The Junior Representative will have served on one of the two subcommittees for at least one year and makes a further two-year commitment to the Committee. The Junior Rep supports all subcommittee work throughout the year and apprentices the role of the Senior Representative. The Junior Rep is nominated by one or more members of the Executive Committee and assumes the role of Senior Rep the following year.

 Graduate Student Council 

The Division G Graduate Student Council consists of three subcommittees: (1) Representatives; and (2) Executive Committee and (3) Campus Liaisons. Each subcommittee strives to meet the needs of graduate students across the country and around the world. 

  To remain connected to the DivG community and events, follow @aeradivg on Twitter, join the group “*Official* AERA Division G: Social Context of Education” on Facebook, and follow @aera_divg on Instagram.

 
 
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