About the Lab
Associate Professor Elsa Gonzalez’s research lab focuses on issues in higher education, particularly among traditionally underrepresented students. Her Embracing Latina Learners’ Assets in STEM (ELLAS) research team is dedicated to studying underrepresented groups, with a focus on Latinas, in STEM and the role of resilience.
Lab Leadership
Elsa Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Elsa Gonzalez is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development and Assistant Provost of Strategic Educational Partnerships at Texas A&M University. She is the regional editor of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE) and board member of the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. She has authored more than 90 publications and edited the book “An Asset-Based Approach to Advancing Latina Students in STEM: Increasing Resilience, Participation, and Success.”
Her research interests include issues in higher education such as underrepresented students; Latine students; access, resilience, retention and graduation in STEM fields; HSI institutions; higher education leadership; and methodological issues in cross-language qualitative methodology. She was awarded the National Science Foundation CAREER grant for her project “Broadening Participation in STEM: A Qualitative Analysis of Resilience Experiences and Strategies of Latina STEM Majors in Hispanic Serving Institutions” (2021–25).
Liliana Bravo, Ph.D.
Dr. Liliana Bravo is a postdoctoral fellow with the ELLAS team in the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University. In this role, she coordinates the design, management, and execution of the NSF-funded project “Broadening Participation in STEM: A Qualitative Analysis of Resilience Experiences and Strategies of Latina STEM Majors in Hispanic Serving Institutions.”
She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where her research focused on the lived experiences of first-generation college students from migrant farm worker backgrounds in South Texas. Prior to her doctoral studies, Dr. Bravo completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Education in Secondary Education at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Emma Claudia Perez, Ph.D.
Emma Claudia Perez is Associate Program Director of Outreach & Research at the Office of Strategic Educational Partnerships at Texas A&M University. She assists the postdoc in project management within the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development. In this role, she coordinates the execution and management of the project “Broadening Participation in STEM: A Qualitative Analysis of Resilience Experiences and Strategies of Latina STEM Majors in Hispanic Serving Institutions.”
Emma transitioned to higher education after attaining a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from the University of Houston in fall 2020. Her graduate research examined the long-term effects of early life events on brain and behavior via rodent models. Beginning in graduate school, she gained experience in student organizations, guiding and mentoring students—primarily of underrepresented backgrounds— where she applies knowledge and behaviors gained from past and present mentors.
Research Fellows
Caitlin Deis Ph.D.
Career Services Associate, Baylor College of Medicine
caitlin.deis@bcm.edu
Caitlin Deis is a scholar-practitioner with more than a decade of experience in higher education. She currently provides career and professional development training to medical students, graduate students and postdoctoral trainees at Baylor College of Medicine. In previous roles, she led outreach and engagement with corporate partners, supported the career development of STEM scholars and advised graduate students. Caitlin was a doctoral student in the higher education leadership and policy studies program at the University of Houston. Her research interests aim to strengthen the relationship between social science and medical education, specifically using an asset-based framework to examine the resilience of Latine or Hispanic identifying medical students in Texas.
Hope Pacheco
Assistant Dean, University of Houston Downtown; Doctoral Student, University of Houston
pachecoh@uhd.edu
Hope serves as Assistant Dean, Student Advocacy and Assistance at UHD. She is a proud first-generation college graduate, scholar-practitioner, mentor, researcher, social worker, advocate, educator, and an equity-minded administrator. She is also a proud mom of 4. She has worked for and on behalf of students of all ages to access and advance their educational opportunities her entire career. Hope earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Texas-Austin and her master’s degree in social work from the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. She is a 5th year doctoral student at the University of Houston College of Education’s Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies program. Hope’s research interest aims to explore the experiences of Latina college students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Alumni
Judith Corral
2022–2023
View Judith’s LinkedIn
Isabella Sanchez Hernandez
2022–2023
View Isabella’s LinkedIn
Daniela Trejo
2022
Jacqueline A. White
2023–2024
View Jacqueline’s LinkedIn
Andrea C. Uribe
2024–2025
View Andrea’sLinkedIn
Partners
Dr. Fred A. Bonner II
Professor, Educational Leadership & Counseling
Executive Director of MACH III
Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Sumana Datta (Retired)
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Studies
Executive Director of LAUNCH
Texas A&M University, College Station
Dr. Cathy Horn
Moores Professor and Dean of the College of Education
Executive Director of Institute for Education Policy Research & Evaluation (IEPRE)
University of Houston
Dr. Ruby Mehrubeoglu
Professor, Department of Engineering
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Dr. Carolyn Nichols
Director of Rice Office of STEM Engagement
Rice University
Dr. Deborah A. Santiago
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
Excelencia in Education
International Collaborators
Dr. María Paola Sevilla Buitrón
Associate Professor of Education
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Dr. María Jesús Montecinos Ortiz
Postdoctoral Researcher & Adjunct Professor
Universidad Alberto Hurtado & Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile