The Rossier School of Education student body, one of the most diverse in the country, is comprised of accomplished research-scholars. This diversity reflects our urban community and we recently ranked #1 in research universities for Minority Doctorates by Diverse: Issues Higher Education.

A glimpse at our entering Ph.D. cohorts for 2004-2009:

• Women = 72%
• Average age = 28
• Age range when entering program = 22-40
• Asian/Asian American = 21%
• Black/ Africa American = 18%
• Caucasian/White = 40%
• Latino/Hispanic = 18%
• International = 3%

Degree Institutions Attended

Undergraduate Institutions Attended

Graduate Institutions Attended

American University, Arizona State University, Brown, BYU, Central Michigan University, Columbia University, Cornell, CSU - Long Beach, CSU - Northridge, Dartmouth, James Madison University, University of Maryland College Park, Loyola Marymount, MIT, Northwestern University, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Seoul National University, Swarthmore, Tianjin Normal University, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, USC

Arizona State University, Cal Tech, CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, George Washington University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, Loyola Marymount University, Miami University, Ohio State University, Pace University, Seoul National University, Teachers College at Columbia University, Trinity College, UC Los Angeles, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Maryland College Park, University of Pennsylvania, USC.

Members of the 2004-2009 cohorts:

To see publications and presentations click on each student's name.

June Ahn serves as a Research Assistant and works with Dr. Dominic Brewer. June received his B.A. in Computing and Education from Brown University in 2003 and his M.A. in Computing and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2006. He worked for several years as a Math teacher and coordinator for Providence Summerbridge. He has also worked as a high school Computer Science teacher and Director of Technology for a K-8 private school. June is currently working with Dr. Dominic Brewer. His research interests include teacher preparation, charter schools, technology application in schools, organizational change, and urban school reform

Robin Bishop is a Provost Fellow working in the Center for Urban Education (CUE) working with Dr. Estela Bensimon. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from C.S.U. Northridge and her M.Ed. in Student Affairs Counseling from UCLA. She spent three years as the Assistant Director of Academic Advisement at Mount St. Mary's College in downtown Los Angeles. She later transitioned to teaching, serving for three more years in the following capacities: a full-time instructor of Psychology, as well as an adjunct instructor of developmental mathematics, a Learning Resource Center and summer bridge staff member, and a psychology faculty advisor. Her research interests include culturally relevant pedagogy, faculty development, effective teaching strategies for success of underprepared students, and achieving equity in student outcomes.

Douglas Burleson received a BA in Literature with a focus on Creative Writing and World Literature from The American University. He then worked as a Housing Administrator at The American University dealing primarily with graduate student housing. Doug returned to graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he received a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration. During his time at UMass he served as a special projects assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life. Now at USC, Doug is a research assistant in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA) working with Dr. William Tierney. His research interests include issues of college preparation and access as well as how educational quality is measured and perceived.

Elizabeth (Libby) Butler earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of California, San Diego. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant with Dr. Hugh Mehan. She continued her education at the University of California, Los Angeles where she earned her Master of Education degree and teaching credential. She spent a total of 15 years in the classroom at a conversion charter school from the Los Angeles Unified School District. She taught mathematics as well as coordinated and taught in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) college preparatory program. Her research interests include ethnic group achievement differences within diverse school populations, especially for middle class African American students. She is a Provost Fellow and will be working with Dr. Ronald Astor.

Megan Chase received a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine and her M.S. in Counseling, with an emphasis in Student Development in Higher Education from California State University, Long Beach. Prior to entering the doctoral program in education she worked as an academic counselor and part time instructor in Freshman Programs and Ethnic Studies at California State University, Fullerton. Megan serves as a Research Assistant for the Center for Urban Education (CUE), where she works with Dr. Estela Bensimon. Her research interests include the study of access and equity for traditionally underrepresented students. More specifically, she is interested in how credit transfer between institutions of higher education may hinder academic success.

Randall Clemens received his B.A. in English from University of Maryland at College Park and his M.S. in Supervision and Administration from Johns Hopkins University. He served as a high school English teacher at Bladensburg High School, a school located near the District of Columbia. Randy currently works as research assistant with Dr. Bill Tierney where his research focuses on K-12 public school education and policy. His interests include school and district level leadership, culture, and innovation as well as the relationships between schools and communities. Randy's 21st Century Scholar Blog

Kris DePedro holds a BA in Anthropology with honors from Columbia University and an Ed.M in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Before USC, he was special education teacher for students with emotional disturbances in Brooklyn, NY, a resource specialist at a charter school in Los Angeles, and a special education consultant. He is presently working with Dr. Ron Astor, and his research interests are school violence policies and prevention, teachers' belief systems, and institutionalized racism in education.

Sean Early graduated with a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from UC Santa Barbara, where he helped lead the Global Peace and Security Program. He received his M.A. in Communication Disorders at CSU Los Angeles. Sean has worked in the public schools since 1990 as a classroom teacher, assistive technology specialist, and speech-language pathologist. Sean works with Dr. Richard Clark and is interested in assessment of bilingual students in K-12 education, and issues of equity and access for historically oppressed groups. Sean completed his Ph.D. in summer 2008 and is working at the Director of Business Analytics and Research at Versant an affiliate of USC.

Araceli Espinoza received a B.A. in American Studies with an emphasis in education from the University of California, Berkeley. She then went on to earn a Master's of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from USC. While pursuing her Master's degree she worked with the Center for Engineering Diversity at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering. Araceli is a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar and serves as a research assistant for Dr. Darnell Cole. Her research interests fall within the overall theme of college experience and educational outcomes of racial ethnic minority (REM) students. Currently, her research is primarily about the academic success and educational satisfaction of REM students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Monica Esqueda earned her BA in Human Development from the University of California, San Diego and her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (Higher Education) from the University of Washington. While at the University of Washington she worked as an undergraduate admissions reader and as a research assistant to Dr. Frances Contreras. Her work with Dr. Contreras led her to explore issues of college access and the opportunities Latino students had to learn and succeed in school within the state of Washington. Apart from her work with Dr. Contreras, Monica also conducted an exploratory study of military service veterans' college decision-making and experiences for her master's thesis. This fall Monica will begin working as a Research Assistant for the Center for Urban Education (CUE), where she will work with Dr. Estela Bensimon. Her research interests include college access, equitable outcomes, and the role the community college plays in facilitating the two goals.

Caitlin Farrell received her bachelor's degree in Government and Psychology from Dartmouth College and master's degree in Childhood Education from Pace University. Prior to entering the doctoral program in education as a Provost Fellow, Caitlin worked at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. As a Teach for America corps member, she also spent 3 years teaching second grade in Brooklyn, New York and Washington D.C. Currently, she is working with Dr. Priscilla Wohlstetter at the Center on Educational Governance (CEG). Her research interests include the organizational theory, school leadership, charter management organizations, and issues of accountability and quality of charter schools.

Lisa Garcia is a research assistant in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA), where she works with Dr. William Tierney on college access issues and remediation. Lisa completed a double major in history and American literature and culture at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating, Lisa worked in the office of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools at UCLA as an editor working on UCLA and University of California print and Web publications for prospective undergraduate students. Her research interests include the study of undocumented college students. She is also interested in general issues of equity, access, and diversity, specifically pertaining to first-generation college students.

Tiffany Jones earned a Bachelor's degree in Family Studies from Central Michigan University and a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Maryland. She has worked with pre-college programs for several years and served as an intern for the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. Now at USC, Tiffany is a research assistant working with Dr. Darnell Cole. Her research interests include college access and student persistence, with particular attention to underrepresented students, including students of color, low income students, and first generation college students.

Jarrett Gupton is a research assistant in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA), where he works with Dr. William Tierney on college access issues regarding homelessness and college going. Jarrett completed a double major in philosophy and political science at Arizona State University, and later received his M.Ed. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from ASU's College of Education. He is the graduate student liaison for the USC 125th Committee and a Fellow in the Center for American Studies and Ethnicity. His research interests include access, equity, and diversity, specifically pertaining to access and trajectory of women of color in the academy, and what roles men of color have in creating and promoting a positive campus climate for women of color. Jarrett completed his Ph.D. in summer 2009 and will be beginning a post-doc at the University of Minnesota.

Ronald Hallett 's research interests include the influence of residential mobility on educational participation, connections between K-12 and higher education, and the role of mentoring programs in high school. His dissertation focused on how living in a doubled-up residence influenced educational participation. During his time at the University of Southern California, he worked under the direction of Dr. William G. Tierney in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis. He has had papers presented at national conferences including AERA, ASHE, NCAN, and the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. His work has been published in research journals including: College and University, Metropolitan Universities and Cultural Studies-Critical Methodologies. He completed his BA degree in communication studies at the University of Nebraska. After spending two years in AmeriCorps, he earned his M.A. degree in special education at The George Washington University. He taught students with emotional and behavioral disorders for four years in Washington, DC and San Diego, CA. Ronn completed his Ph.D. in summer 2009 and is currently an assistant professor of educational administration and leadership at the University of the Pacific.

Brianna Kennedy is a Provost Fellow and a Ph.D. student at the Rossier School of Education. While teaching middle school for seven years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, she had the opportunity to work with marginalized youth in an alternative education setting. Her current research interests include examining education as an institution from a global comparative perspective, particularly regarding intervention practices for students who are less successful in mainstream classrooms. Brianna obtained a B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of California, Riverside, with emphases in Sociology and Philosophy and a minor in German. She then received a M.Ed. from UCLA. She has lived in Germany and Mexico, and continues to explore languages, cultures, and institutions.

Chuan (Ally) Kuzin received her bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University and a master's degree in Education from Harvard. Previously, Ally worked as the education director for New England SCORES, a non-profit organization serving public school students in Boston, and taught pre-K and high school both in the U.S. and in China. Currently, she is working under the advisement of Dr. Priscilla Wohlstetter at the Center on Educational Governance (CEG). She is a Diversity Fellow and her research interests include the role of non-profit organizations in urban education, immigrant student experience, and urban school reform.

Hyo Jin Lim is a recipient of the USC Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship, and she earned a B.A. in Education and M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Seoul National University, South Korea. Before coming to RSOE, she was a student in the master's program of Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. She is working with Dr. Robert Rueda and her research interests include motivational and cognitive language/literacy development of ethnically and linguistically diverse students. She is especially interested in developing longitudinal growth models of reading achievement. Her current dissertation investigates the multilevel effects of reading achievement of English learners, using a large-scale, longitudinal dataset in an urban school district.

Lu (Sunny) Liu completed her B.A. degree in Chinese Language and Literature at Tianjin Normal University (China) with a minor in Computer Science. Before coming to America to pursue her Master's Degree in Information Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sunny worked for two years at Cambridge English Training School as an Administrator. Prior to beginning the Ph.D. program she was a part-time faculty member at University of California State at Fullerton. She is currently working with Dr. Richard Brown and her research interests include higher education, distance learning and technology application in education.

Lindsey Malcom serves as a Research Assistant for the Center for Urban Education (CUE), where she works with Dr. Estela Bensimon. Lindsey received her B.S. in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001, and her M.S. in Planetary Science from Caltech in 2003. She has also worked for several years as an instructor and curriculum coordinator for the Interphase program at MIT, and the YESS program at Caltech. Her research interests include the study of academic equity of minority students studying mathematics, science, and engineering. Lindsey completed her Ph.D. in summer 2008 and has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in Higher Education at UC Riverside.

Jonathan Mathis is a Provost Fellow serving as a Research Assistant in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA), with Dr. William Tierney. He earned his BS in Business Administration for Enterprise Management from American University. While at American, he participated in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Scholars Program, conducting research on new teacher induction and mentoring programs led by school systems in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Jonathan served as an Admissions Counselor, Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment, and Counselor and Recruiter for the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) for the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Oneonta. After two years in Oneonta, Jonathan returned to Washington, DC to serve as the Transition Counselor and Freedom Schools Project Director for Maya Angelou Public Charter School-Evans Campus. He earned his Masters of Science in Administration for Educational Administration (K-12) from Trinity University of Washington, DC. His research interests include school-university partnerships, charter and early college high school design, issues of access and equal educational opportunities, and the creation and dissemination of organizational culture in college-preparatory secondary schools.

Andrew McEachin is a Provost Fellow studying under Dr. Dominic Brewer. Before entering the doctoral program at USC, he earned a bachelor's in History from Cornell University and a master's and teaching credential in Special Education from CSU Dominguez Hills. He earned the latter while working as a special education teacher in Los Angeles with Teach for America. His current interests include economics of education, urban school reform, comparative education, and his non-profit organization, Building Friendships and Foundations.

Kathrine (Katie) Moulton is a third year Ph.D. student working with Drs. Richard Clark and Robert Rueda. She earned a B.A. from USC in psychology, an M.A. from Loyola Marymount in school counseling and an M.A. from CSU Dominguez Hills in clinical psychology. She has professional experience as a clinical therapist and school counselor. Katie's research interests include social cognitive factors in academic motivation, research design and methodology, and the academic experiences of high school dropouts.

Michelle Nayfack earned her bachelor's degree in English Literature from Columbia University and received her teaching credential from California State University, Northridge. Before entering the Ph.D. program at USC, Michelle taught middle school and high school and also served as the Dean of Academics at a Los Angeles charter school. She is currently working with Dr. Priscilla Wohlstetter in the Center on Educational Governance (CEG). Her research interests include educational policy and urban school reform and her dissertation research focuses on the expansion of charter management organizations. Michelle's work has been published in The Journal of School Choice and Education & Urban Society.

Vicki Park completed her B.A. degree in history at UCLA, where she went on to earn her M.Ed. in Education and teaching credential. She taught for four years within the Los Angeles Unified School District working with elementary and middle school students. Currently, she is working at the Center on Educational Governance (CEG). Her research interests include general urban education reform with emphasis on issues of access and equity for low-income, minority students in the K-12 setting. Vicki completed her Ph.D. in summer 2008 and is the Director of Research for the UCSD portion of the Gates Foundation Project: Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Obstacles to Post-Secondary Education and Beyond.

Icela Pelayo received her B.A. from UC Berkeley where she studied Spanish Literature and Political Economy of Industrial Societies. After graduating, she served as the Economic Development Fellow at the Greenlining Institute where she worked with financial institutions and community leaders to improve bilingual banking services and increase community reinvestment in underserved neighborhoods. Before coming to RSOE, Icela earned her M.A. in Education from Loyola Marymount University and worked for four years as an elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She is currently working as a research assistant with Drs. Dominic Brewer and Robert Rueda. Her research interests include bilingual and urban education, language education policy, and education economics.

Stefani Relles completed her B.A. in English with a certificate in Integrated Arts at Northwestern University. After earning her M.Ed. at the University of New Hampshire, she taught high school English and Creative Writing before transitioning to working with writers in the private sector. As a Vice President and Department Head of Creative Writer Development at Fox Broadcasting Company, her outreach with emerging playwrights was recognized by media sources including The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. Additionally, during her tenure at Fox, she taught a graduate course entitled "How To Create a Television Series" at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. In 2007, she returned to the English classroom as an adjunct instructor at Los Angeles City College. Currently, she is working under the direction of Dr. William G. Tierney in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA). She is interested in literacy and writing instruction as it pertains to higher education access for underserved student populations.

Margaret Sallee earned her B.A. in English and French from UC Berkeley and her Master's in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University. While at USC, she worked with William G. Tierney in the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA). Her work with Dr. Tierney focused on student and faculty diversity. Margaret's current research, a qualitative study of male graduate students, considers how gender and socialization differ by discipline. While at USC, Margaret served as chair of the GPSS Women's Concerns Committee (now Committee for Gender Equity) and was active in advocating for a pregnancy leave policy for graduate students. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Order of the Arete, a distinction from the university for outstanding service in a campus leadership role. Margaret completed her Ph.D. in summer 2008 and has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in Higher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Cecilia Sam completed her B.A. from Loyola Marymount University with a double major in Philosophy and English Literature. She also received her M.A. from Loyola Marymount, in Philosophy, and a later a second M.A. in Education, with a credential in Secondary Language Arts. She currently works with Dr. Adrianna Kezar in the Center for Higher Education Policy and Analysis. Her research focuses on the nexus of ethics, higher education institutional policies, and organizations.

Misty Sawatzky received her BA in psychology from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), where she completed her graduate work in educational psychology. She has worked at the K-12 level with children with special needs for over 5 years. Prior to coming to Rossier, she was a research assistant for the General Education Coordinator and the Director of Program Review and Assessment at CSULB. Currently, Misty is a research assistant in the Center of Urban Education (CUE), where she works with Dr. Alicia Dowd. Her research interests include quantitative methods in the study of culturally inclusive pedagogy and equity-mindedness on campuses, student-faculty interaction, and faculty classroom behaviors.

Alejandra Velasco completed her B.A. degree in psychology at Loyola Marymount University and later earned her Ed.M. degree from Harvard University. She has worked extensively in public schools as a teacher, literacy coach, school reform consultant and researcher. Currently, Alejandra is working with Dr. Robert Rueda on research which explores the relationship between motivation and literacy in classrooms with bilingual learners. She is a Diversity Fellow and has presented at national and international conferences. Alejandra's research interests include literacy, particularly as it relates to English learners, motivation and urban education.

Dara Zeehandelaar is a Provost Fellow working in K-12 policy and reform. She is currently working with Dr. Katharine Strunk in the Center on Educational Governance (CEG). Dara earned her Bachelor's degree in astronomy from Cornell University in 2003, her M.S. in astrophysics from the University of Maryland in 2005, and her teaching credential from the American University in 2008. Previous to graduate school, she worked as high school math teacher and a summer school administrator for Washington DC public schools. Her current interests are in school district reform as a product of local politics, civic capacity, and community engagement.