Portrait
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Education, Culture & Society
  • Associate Professor, Education, Culture & Society
801-587-0364

Professional Service

  • Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ). Role: Grant Reviewer. Reviewer. 11/2022 - present
  • Utah State Board of Education and Flamboyan Foundation. Role: Cohort Member. Was part of a cohort of educators and school-based family engagement practitioners who took part in free online workshops on building family-school partnerships. 08/2022 - 12/2022
  • Racial & Ethnic Disparities Collaborative, Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ). Role: Member. Collaborative . 01/2022 - present
  • Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ). Role: Reviewer. Grant Reviewer. 05/2021 - 06/2021
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities Committee -Utah Board of Juvenile Justice. Role: Committee Member. Committee Member. 01/04/2021 - present
  • Ethnic Studies Coalition. Role: Curriculum Development. Committee Member. 12/2020 - 12/2021
  • University of Utah. Role: Faculty Advisory Committee. Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). 02/10/2017 - present
  • American Educational Research Association. Role: Fiscal Co-Chair, . Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Board . 12/05/2015 - 10/10/2016
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA),. Role: Committee Member. Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), Scholar Activist Award, Special Interest Group . 12/01/2015 - 04/10/2016
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA). Role: Committee Member. Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), Scholar Activist Award, Special Interest Group . 10/2015 - 01/2016
  • Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ), Utah Commission on Crime and Juvenile Justice. Role: Advisory Board Member. Disproportionate Minority Committee (DMC), , Salt Lake City, UT. 09/2015 - 09/2019
  • Special Issue: Chicana/Latina Feminism(s): Negotiating Pedagogical Borderlands for the Journal of Latino-Latin American Studies (JOLLAS). Role: Reviewer. Reviewer. 04/2013 - 06/2013
  • Critical Education. Role: Reviewer. Reviewer. 02/2013 - present
  • Multicultural Perspectives. Reviewer. 01/2013 - 12/2013

Internal Service

  • Faculty Search, Assistant/Associate Professor, Philosophy of Education. Co-Chair, 09/2023 - 03/2024. Department service.
  • Community Engaged Learning and Scholarship, Office of Undergraduate Studies, UofU. Committee Member, 08/21/2023 - present. University service.
  • RPT, Department Committee. Committee Member, 08/2023 - 12/2023. Department service.
  • Search Committee Member, Director of Community Engaged Scholarship & Evaluation, University Neighborhood Partners (UNP), University of Utah (UofU) . Search Committee Member, 08/2023 - 10/2023. University service.
  • Committee Member, RPT College Committee. Committee Member, 08/2023 - 10/2023. College service.
  • Graduate Admissions Committee. Chair, 03/2023 - 12/2023. Department service.
  • Committee Member, Elementary/Secondary Admissions, Urban Institute for Teacher Education. Reviewer, 02/2023 - 04/2023. College service.
  • Teaching Seminar. Chair, 01/2023 - 12/2023. Department service.
  • First and Second Year Doctoral Reviews. Chair, 01/2023 - 12/2023. Department service.
  • Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Education Culture and Society (ECS), University of Utah. Chair (Director of Graduate Studies), 11/2022 - present. Department service.
  • Faculty Search, Assistant Professor (Clinical) K-12 Education with emphasis in Community Engaged teaching & Learning with Diverse Multilingual Learners . Committee Member,, 09/2022 - 04/2023. Department service.
  • Faculty Search Committee for Assistant Professor (Clinical) K-12 Education with Emphasis in Community Engaged Teaching and Learning with Diverse Multilingual Learners, Department of Education, Culture and Society . Committee Member, 09/2022 - 02/2023. Department service.
  • Search Committee for the Associate Director for Curriculum and Scholarship, Bennion Center, University of Utah. Search Committee Member, 05/2022 - 08/2022. University service.
  • Community Engagement Learning Faculty Committee, Bennion Center, University of Utah. Community Engaged Learning Faculty Member, 04/2022 - present. University service.
  • Graduate Student First & Second Year Review, Department of Education, Culture and Society (ECS), University of Utah. Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, 04/2022 - 10/2022. Department service.
  • Seal of Excelencia, Office of the Vice President for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, University of Utah. Council Member, 03/2022 - present. University service.
  • Latinx Advisory Board, Office of the Vice President for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, University of Utah. Board Member, 01/2022 - present. University service.
  • Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA) Collective. Director and Facilitator, 01/2022 - present. Department service.
  • Elementary/Secondary Admissions Committee, Urban Institute for Teacher Education, University of Utah. Member, 01/2022 - present. College service.
  • Clinical Faculty Review and Reappointment, Faculty Advisory Committee for Teacher Education (FACTE), University of Utah. Chair, 01/2022 - 04/2022. College service.
  • Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (SVPAA). Search Committee Member,, 02/28/2019 - 04/30/2019. University service.
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) - Working Group, Utah Board of Juvenile Justice (UBJJ), Utah Commission on Crime and Juvenile Justice, Salt Lake City, UT. Committee Member, 12/17/2018 - present. Other service.
  • Curriculum Committee. Committee Member, 02/01/2018 - 05/10/2018. College service.
  • Director of Graduate Studies. Director of Graduate Studies, 01/08/2018 - present. Department service.
  • Rotation Teaching Schedule. Faculty Member, 01/08/2018 - present. Department service.
  • Elected Member, Senate Personnel and Elections Committee (SP&EC), Academic Senate. Elected Member, 01/08/2018 - 04/30/2020. University service.
  • Language and Education Faculty Search . Committee Member, 11/30/2017 - present. Department service.
  • Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). Faculty Advisory Committee, 08/31/2017 - present. University service.
  • Rotation Teaching Policy Committee. Committee Member, 08/25/2017 - present. Department service.
  • Retention, Promotion & Tenure Committee. RPT Committee Member, 08/21/2017 - present. College service.
  • Ph.D. Admissions Committee. Committee Member, 02/28/2017 - 04/23/2017. Department service.
  • Associate Director for Community Engaged Learning, Bennion Center . Search Committee, 02/06/2017 - 05/31/2017. University service.
  • Elementary Admissions Committee, Urban Institute for Teacher Education (UITE. Committee Member, 02/05/2017 - present. College service.
  • Math Education Faculty Search Committee . Committee Member, 01/08/2017 - 05/31/2018. Department service.
  • University of Neighborhood Partnership (UNP). Board Member, 09/2015 - present. University service.
  • ECS 3150. Faculty Advisor, 09/2015 - 12/2015. Department service.
  • Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA) Collective. Faculty Advisor, 08/2015 - present. College service.
  • Academic Senate. Elected College of Education Representative, 07/2015 - 07/2018. University service.
  • College Executive Council. Member, 06/2015 - 06/2018. College service.
  • Diversity Action Task Force (DATF) . Committee Member, 08/2013 - 02/2014. College service.
  • Hiring Committee Member (Educational Psychology) . Committee Member, 08/2013 - 10/2013. College service.
  • Faculty Advisory Committee for Teacher Education (FACTE). Committee Member, 06/2013 - 06/2016. College service.
  • M.Ed. Comprehensive Exam Committee . Chair, 08/2012 - 05/2013. Department service.
  • M.Ed. Comprehensive Exams . (Committee Member), 08/2011 - 08/2013. Department service.
  • First and Second Year Doctoral Reviews. Chair, 08/2011 - 05/2013. Department service.
  • College Appeals Committee. Committee Member, 08/2008 - 08/2014. College service.

Community Partnership

  • Afghan Leadership Project. 08/2023 - 09/2024
  • Utah Refugee Center . 08/2022 - present
  • Utah Community Advocate Network. 01/2022 - present
  • Salt Lake Center for Science Education (SLCSE). 01/2022 - present
  • Design Circle. 01/2022 - present
  • Education Collective SLC, Salt Lake City, UT https://www.edcollectiveslc.org/. 09/2020 - present
  • Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA) Collective, Faculty Advisor. 08/2015 - present
  • Family School Partnership (FSP) . 01/2013 - 12/2013

Outreach

  • Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA) Collective. Mentor high school students and assist them with information and support for admissions and scholarships. Pathway for underrepresented students into higher education. 01/2022 - present
  • Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA) Collective. 08/2015 - present
  • Family School Partnership (FSP). 01/2013 - 12/2013

Honors & Awards

  • Co-Principal Investigator, Advancing Pathways toward Equity and eXcellence with Educators of Multilingual Learners (APEX Project). Valdez, V. E. (PI) & Sun, W. (Co-PI), National Professional Development Grant, $2.83 million. U.S. Department of Educaiton - Office of English Language Acquisition , 09/2021
  • Nominated, Outstanding Academic Advisor Award, University Academic Advising Community (UAAC) University of Utah . University of Utah, 12/15/2021
  • Nominated, Distinguished Faculty Service Award, Bennion Center. University of Utah, 01/20/2021
  • Ruby Chacón Social Justice Arts Award. Mestizo Institute of Culture & Arts, 11/2019
  • Service Award-College of Education. Award granted by the College of Education. College of Education, University of Utah, 04/25/2018
  • Nominated, College of Education Service Award. College of Education, University Utah, 04/2017
  • Beacon of Excellence Award-Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA). University of Utah, 04/2016
  • Community Engagement Award-Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA). Utah Valley University (UVU), 04/2016
  • Cesar Chavez Peace & Justice Award-Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA). Utah Coalition of La Raza (UCLR), 06/2016
  • Faculty Teaching Award-College of Education. University of Utah-College of Education, 04/2015
  • Family School Partnership (FSP), an interdisciplinary research project that integrates community based-research with educational practices. was awarded funds for its community engagement activities [$22,500]. University of Utah Office of Associate VP for Academic Affairs & Dean of Undergraduate Studies , 08/01/2014
  • Family School Partnership (FSP) research. [$2000]. University of Utah, Department of Education, Culture & Society (ECS), 04/01/2010
  • Between 2008-2010 FSP , a community based interdisciplinary project that I direct was awarded funds [$23,000 ] to support the various family school community conferences and educational equity activities being completed with linguistically and culturally diverse students, their families, teachers and community partners. Salt Lake City School District: Department of Educational Equity, 08/01/2008
  • Awarded $2000 for continued research with newcomer immigrants outside of the state of Utah. University of Utah College of Education: New Faculty Initiative Grant, 08/01/2008
  • Community Advocate Partnership (Youth Education & Success), Faculty Partner, [$7000]. University Neighborhood Partners, University of Utah, 09/2008
  • Nominated, Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research, American Educational Research Association (AERA). American Educational Research Association (AERA), 10/2023
  • Distinguished Faculty Service Award. Bennion Center, University of Utah, 05/2022
  • Social Justice & Transformation Award. College of Education, University of Utah, 03/28/2022

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