Latina/o/x Research Issues SIG#46 Officers 

Current Officers 2026-2027

Chair: Dra. Maria Luz Espino

Dra. Maria Luz Espino is an educator, scholar, & advocate researching equity in higher education for systematically excluded students. Her work spans STEM pathways, identity development, community colleges, & organizational change.  

Chair-Elect: Dra. Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto

Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto (UTRGV) works toward equity embracing non‑Western ways of knowing and decolonial Borderlands research as testigo y testimoniante, co‑witnessing migration, memory, and belonging through autostory, poetry, and images.

Past Chair: Dr. Rachel Gómez

Dr. Gómez studies how schools reproduce and challenge racial inequity through curriculum, policy, and practice. Her work centers Latina/o/x and Black youth, Ethnic Studies, and racial justice in education.

Program Chair: Dr. José Del Real Viramontes

José Del Real Viramontes, is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration and Policy program at the University of California, Riverside. His research examines the transfer experiences of Latinx students using community college pathways to complete bachelor's degrees.

Program Chair-Elect: Dra. Stephanie Cuellar

Stephanie Cuellar, Assistant Professor (Texas Christian University), researches sources of resilience, ethnic-racial identity, and equitable educational pathways for Hispanic/Latina/o/e individuals.

Secretary/Treasurer: Dra. Elizabeth Gil

Elizabeth Gil, Associate Professor (Fordham University), is a community-engaged scholar with expertise in fostering effective educational leadership through expanded perspectives on family and community strengths.

Graduate Student Co-Communication Chair - Newsletter: Stephanie Luna-Lopez

Stephanie Luna-Lopez is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Davis, studying School Organization and Educational Policy, with a designated emphasis in Computational Social Science. Her research interests focus on first-generation and minority students, access to information about higher education, and the role of social networks in students' experiences and outcomes.

Graduate Student Co-Communication Chair - Social Media: Mónika Cantú 

Mónika Pamela Cantú Esparza is a doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, she studies higher education access, persistence, and mental health among Mexican women with dual citizenship who immigrate to the United States. She is a Crossing Latinidades Doctoral Fellow through the University of Illinois Chicago and expects to complete her doctorate in May 2027.

Past Graduate Student Co-Communications Chair - Social Media: Armando Lizarraga 

A proud local of Inglewood, California, Armando Lizarraga is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin. His research explores postsecondary education, financial aid, and the experiences of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women to advance more equitable educational opportunities through a social justice lens.

Past Officers

2025-2026 

Marco A. Murillo, Immediate Past Chair

Rachel Gómez, Chair

Maria Luz Espino, Chair-elect

Elizabeth Gil, Secretary/Treasurer

Cynthia D. Villarreal, Program Chair 

José Del Real Viramontes, Program Chair-elect

Stephanie Luna Lopez, Communications: Newsletter

Armando Lizarraga, Communications: Social Media

2024-2025 

Marco A. Murillo, Chair 

Rachel Gómez, Chair-elect

Guillermo Ortega, Past Chair

Bernice Sánchez, Secretary/Treasurer

Bernadette Castillo, Program Chair

Cynthia D. Villarreal, Program Chair-elect