Counseling in the Era of Equity: Critical Competencies for Student Success

Angela Valenzuela is a Professor in both the Educational Policy and Planning Program within the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin and holds a courtesy appointment in the Cultural Studies in Education Program within the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. She also serves as the director of the University of Texas Center for Education Policy.

A Stanford University graduate, her previous teaching positions were in Sociology at Rice University in Houston, Texas (1990-98), as well as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston (1998-99). She is also the author of award-winning Subtractive Schooling: U.S. Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring (1999) Leaving Children Behind: How "Texas-style" Accountability Fails Latino Youth (2005), and Growing Critically Conscious Teachers: A Social Justice Curriculum for Educators of Latino/a Youth (Teachers College Press, 2016). She also founded and operates an education blog titled, Educational Equity, Politics, and Policy in Texas.

She served as co-editor of the Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, as well as the Anthropology and Education Quarterly. A previous Fulbright Scholar, Valenzuela spent her 2007-08 academic year in Mexico where she taught in the College of Law at the University of Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Guanajuato and conducted research in the areas of immigration, human rights, and binational relations. Most recently, she was honored to have been selected to be a scholar in residence in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Valenzuela's research and teaching interests are in the sociology of education, minority youth in schools, educational policy, urban education reform, culturally relevant curriculum, Ethnic Studies, and indigenous education.

Valenzuela also directs the National Latino Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAP) that aims to create a teacher education pathways for Latino/a youth, nationally. With prior funding support from grants from both the Ford and Kellogg Foundations, this work builds on the efforts and advocacy of Latino/a education and business leaders nationwide. NLERAP has been housed at the University of Texas at Austin since November 6, 2009. Locally, she directs Academia Cuauhtli, a partnership-based, community-anchored Saturday school with district-wide Impacts in Austin, Texas.

J. Luke Wood, Ph.D. is the Associate Vice President for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion and Distinguished Professor of Education at San Diego State University. Formerly, Wood served as the Director of the Joint Ph.D. program in Education between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University and Director of the Ed.D. Program in Community College Leadership. Wood also serves as the Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL), a national research and practice center that partners with community colleges to support their capacity in advancing outcomes for underserved students of color. CCEAL houses the National Consortium on College Men of Color (NCCMC) which hosts trainings, information sharing sessions, and provides resources to colleges with initiatives and programs supporting college men of color.

Wood’s research focuses on factors affecting the success of boys and men of color education, with a specific focus on community colleges. In particular, his research examines contributors (e.g., social, psychological, academic, environmental, institutional) to positive outcomes. Dr. Wood has delivered over a 120 scholarly professional and conference presentation. His research has been featured by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Huffington Post, Fortune Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, C-SPAN, and National Press Club. Dr. Wood has authored over 120 publications, including more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has authored and edited 14 books, his most recent books include: Supporting men of color in the community college (2017, Wood and Harris III), Teaching boys and young men of color (2016, Wood and Harris III) and Teaching men of color in the community college (2015, Wood, Harris III, and White).

Dr. Wood is a former recipient of the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from which he served as research fellow at the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER), Stanford University. He has also served as a Young Academic Fellow for the Institute for Higher Education Policy and Lumina Foundation. His scholarship and professional practice have been lauded through awards and honors, including: the Council for the Study of the Community College Barbara K. Townsend Emerging Scholar Award the National Association for Student Personnel Administrator’s Newly Published Research Award from the Knowledge Community on Men and Masculinities; the ASHE Council on Ethnic Participation Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship the ASU Alumni Association Outstanding Graduate Award, the ASU Fulton College Dean’s Excellence Award for Graduate Research, the Sacramento Observer’s the Top 30 under 30 Award, the ASU Fulton College Robert H. Fenske Fellowship for Higher & Postsecondary Education (ASU Fulton College); and the International Society for the Exploration of Teaching and Learning Distinguished Fellows Presentation Co-Award. Wood received his PhD in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies with an emphasis in Higher Education and master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University (ASU). He also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership with a concentration in Student Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in Black History and Politics from California State University, Sacramento. Luke is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.