Vita 


 

Melissa A. Martínez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Educational and Community Leadership Program at Texas State University-San Marcos. She is a native of the Rio Grande Valley, and a former bilingual elementary school teacher and school counselor with the Austin Independent School District. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration, with a concentration in Higher Education, from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010 and earned her B.A. (1998) and M.Ed. (2002) at The University of Texas at Brownsville. Her research focuses on three areas: 1) equity and access issues along the P-16 educational pipeline for students of color, primarily college access and readiness issues for Latina/os and Latina/o parent engagement, 2) pedagogical practices utilized in the preparation of future educational leaders, and 3) the experiences of faculty of color in academia. Through her research and teaching, Dr. Martínez is committed to preparing future educational leaders who are thoughtful, critical, and reflective in their practice and adhere to the tenets of social justice.