Yiting Chu, Chair
Dr. Yiting Chu serves as the Multicultural/Multiethnic SIG as chair for 2023-2025. Dr. Chu is an assistant professor serving the Doctor of Education in Educational Program Development at University of South Florida, Tampa. His research is situated in the intersections of diversity and equity in education and teacher education policy and practice. Dr. Chu previously served as the Awards Committee Chair and the Program Chair for the Multicultural/Multiethnic SIG.
Sandra Leu Bonanno, Secretary
Dr. Leu Bonanno serves the Multicultural/Multiethnic SIG as secretary for 2023-2024. Dr. Leu Bonanno is an educational researcher associated with WestEd who focuses on culturally sustaining education and leadership particularly for multilingual learners. Dr. Leu Bonanno previously worked as an assistant professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver and considers herself a social justice advocate that engages educational partners at multiple levels, including students, teachers, leaders, and state agencies, to create structures, policies, and practices that sustain the dynamic identities and experiences of marginalized communities in schools.
Christopher Sewell, Treasurer
Neisha Terry Young is a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy program in the School of Education at Drexel University. She has over 12 years of experience as a middle and high school English Language Arts educator in Jamaica and the United States, where she operated in various teaching and administrative roles. She holds a teaching diploma in Double Option English from Shortwood Teachers College in Jamaica, in addition to a BA in English from Georgia State University (summa cum laude) and an MA in English from Southern New Hampshire University. Neisha is an immigrant citizen, having grown up in Jamaica. Her background is reflected in her research focus, which centers around exploring the intersectional identities of immigrant students and exploring ways in which immigrant youth can be empowered to navigate and respond to dominant deficit discourses about their identities through multiliteracies. Her goal is to identify ways to influence which policy and pedagogy to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of immigrant students.
Melisa Valentin, Social Media Chair
Jennifer M. Johnson, Immediate Past Chair
Dr. Jennifer M. Johnson served as the Multicultural/Multiethnic SIG as Chair for 2021-2023. She is an associate professor of higher education at Temple University and an active-scholar practitioner in the fields of college access and student retention. A former Philadelphia middle school teacher with a background in science and mathematics, she has spent several years working as a counselor and advisor for college access and success programs. Her research areas include high achieving students of color, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and graduate student experiences. This scholarship explores the ways race, gender, and class intersects to shape the educational experiences of students across diverse institutional environments.
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