RESEARCH TEAM

Paula Nazario, M.P.P. is the Assistant Director of the Computer Science Equity Project at UCLA Center X. She currently leads the Plugging into Power: Family and Community Engagement for Equitable CS Education research to build the capacity of community-based organizations in California serving parents, students, and low-income families of color to advocate for equity in computer science education. Previously, Paula was a Monica Salinas Policy Fellow at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI), where she focused on COVID-19 relief programs, criminal justice reform, economic mobility and opportunity, and other issues affecting Latinx communities. She holds an M.P.P. with a data analytics certificate and B.A. in Political Science with a double minor in Civic Engagement and Education Studies, both from UCLA. She is a first-generation college student and was born and raised in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Paula is passionate about social justice, education equity, and economic mobility, and is committed to improving the educational opportunities for low-income students of color.

Jean J. Ryoo, Ph.D. is the Director of Research of the Computer Science Equity Project at UCLA Center X. She is currently leading the “REAL-CS” Project’s effort to understand, from youth perspectives, what students are learning in introductory CS high school courses, and how their experiences with computing impact their engagement, agency, and identity in CS. This research-practice partnership with school districts and classroom teachers has the shared goal of surfacing historically underrepresented students’ voices in the growing “CS for All” movement. Prior to this, she worked with the Tinkering Studio of the San Francisco Exploratorium–a museum of science, art, and human perception–to direct research-practice partnerships focused on equity issues in afterschool STEM making programs (see, for example, the California Tinkering Afterschool Network). Jean builds on her varied experiences as a museum docent, afterschool educator, and public school teacher to inform her focus on using research as a tool to name and counter the inequities that our youth and teachers face in different educational contexts. Jean received her PhD from UCLA, MEdT from University of Hawai’i at Manoa, and her BA from Harvard University.

Dr. Julie Flapan is Co-Director of the CSforCA project where she advocates for K-12 computer science education in California to ensure its accessibility to all students, especially girls, students of color, and low-income students.  She also serves as Director of the Computer Science Project at UCLA’s Center X where she conducts research and works closely with practitioners to inform statewide policy. Previously, Julie served as Director of Public Engagement for UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA) where she led the Education Justice Collaborative, integrating research, policy analysis, and coalition building through communications and grassroots organizing strategies to ensure all students have access to a meaningful education that prepares them for college, careers, and democratic participation. Her research interests include anti-bias/anti-racist education and social justice policies that provide equal opportunities for teaching and learning in low-income communities of color.  Julie has extensive experience facilitating workshops for teachers, parents and community leaders as part of the Anti-Defamation League’s A World of Difference education program. Julie graduated with a B.A. from Pitzer College, an M.S. in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA.  As an advocate for computer science education, her biggest (and admittedly hypocritical) struggle is getting her three children off their devices!

Dr. Nicol R. Howard is Dean for the School of Education at the University of Redlands. She is also the Co-Director of the Race in Education Analytics Learning Lab (the REAL Lab) where she engages with students and colleagues in critical quantitative and mixed methods research projects to critically examine systems, policies, and practices related to racial equity in education. Dr. Howard’s research focuses on learning experiences and identity development in STEM and Computer Science education, as well as family involvement and digital equity. She has published several books about digital equity, technology, computer science, and coding in classrooms and is co-editor for the Journal of Computer Science Integration.  In addition to her experience in higher education, Dr. Howard has taught at the high school level (9th – 12th grades and Special Education) and in grades K through 5, and was a Program Specialist in Personalized and Blended Learning in California K-12 public school districts.

Dr. Rocío Mendoza (she/her/ella) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership and Higher Education and teaches in the Ed.D. and M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program at the University of Redlands. Drawing from critical frameworks, Dr. Mendoza teaches and writes about the logics and methods of marginalization in higher education, the assets, and epistemologies of communities of color, and the institutional structures and practices shaping student of color outcomes. She has over 15 years of experience working in academic support/training programs, including TRiO Programs and Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP) that support first-generation, low-income, students of color. Dr. Mendoza earned a B.A. degree in Sociology, with a double major in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Mendoza’s approaches to teaching, research and service are also deeply shaped by her personal experiences growing up in the city of La Puente, California, as a first-generation Chicana, and daughter of immigrants from Mexico.