Lab Members

CURRENT VANDERBILT MEMBERS

Luis A. Leyva (él/he), Lab Director

Peabody Programs:

Ph.D. program in Learning, Teaching & Diversity

Master’s program in Learning, Diversity & Urban Studies and Learning & Design

Undergraduate and master’s programs in Elementary & Early Childhood Education

Dr. Leyva is an associate professor of mathematics education and STEM higher education in the Department of Teaching & Learning at Vanderbilt-Peabody College. His research explores how historically marginalized students at intersections of race, gender, and sexuality construct their identities while navigating instructional and student support contexts in undergraduate STEM education. Prior to joining the Peabody faculty, Dr. Leyva earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education with a concentration in Women’s & Gender Studies from Rutgers University. Dr. Leyva was certified as a K-12 mathematics teacher in New Jersey. He holds over six years of professional experience in higher education initiatives, including living-learning communities and summer bridge programs, designed to increase STEM retention and success among historically marginalized groups.

Maria Maria Castillo (she/her), Doctoral Research Assistant (2023-Present)

Peabody Program: Ph.D. in Leadership & Policy Studies

Maria is interested in K-12 finance and examining how policies and interventions can improve mathematical learning outcomes and educational experiences for low-income students of color. Before graduate school, Maria served as an AmeriCorps member on the admission team at Breakthrough New York. She was then a graduate coordinator for the Women in STEM program at Harvard College. Maria has worked on several research projects ranging from Latinx parental engagement, linguistic and cultural diversity to a more recent project investigating how funding, particularly per-pupil expenditure, impacts the inequitable distribution of resources and its influence on differential access and enrollment in Advanced Placement mathematics courses. Maria earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Mount Holyoke College and her Ed.M. in Teacher Education from The Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Elsa F. Landeros (she/her/ella), Doctoral Research Assistant (2024-Present)

Peabody Program: Ph.D. in Learning, Teaching & Diversity (Justice, Diversity & Education concentration)

Elsa received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate studies, she quickly realized her passion for education equity and access, leading her to intern with a local North Carolina educational nonprofit, LatinxEd. Immersed in the complex nature of student experiences, she further pursued her commitment to educational equity as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, researching the impacts of Upward Bound participation for low-income, first-generation students at the UNC School of Education. Elsa’s research interests include higher education access, the experiences of Latinx students, and student retention and success. In her free time, she enjoys going on runs and discovering new coffee shop.

Nicollette D. Mitchell (she/her), Doctoral Research Assistant (2021-Present)

Peabody Program: Ph.D. in Learning, Teaching & Diversity (Justice, Diversity & Education concentration)

Nicollette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geology and Africana studies from Oberlin College and a Masters of Science in Geosciences from the University of Arizona. Following her passion for global and institutional climate change, she has worked in STEM Education and Equity and Inclusion Education for the last five years. She is passionate about the factors that influence the retention and persistence of Black and Brown students, faculty, and staff in higher education. Nicollette enjoys spending her free time exploring local parks and trails with her husband Jahlil and son Jett.

CURRENT EXTERNAL MEMBERS:

Megumi Asada (they/them), Member since 2021

External Program Affiliation: Ph.D. in Learning, Cognition, Instruction, and Development (Mathematics Education);

Megumi’s research interests lie at the intersection of mathematics education and prison abolition. They are interested in exploring how the broader systems that undergird the prison industrial complex produce inequities in undergraduate math education. As an undergraduate, Megumi was heavily involved with their college’s Association for Women in Mathematics chapter and had been invested in efforts to improve classroom climate and equity in undergraduate mathematics. Megumi has an MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics with Honors from Williams College. 

ALUMNI:

Enrique Abreu-Ramos (he/him), Undergraduate Research Assistant (2020-Present)

Peabody Program: Undergraduate major in Cognitive Sciences

PRISM Projects: Latinx in College Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Publication: Faculty and student perceptions of instructional servingness in gateway mathematics courses at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (PME-NA Conference Proceeding, 2022)

Current Role: Applying to graduate school programs in cognitive studies

 

Zander Alley (he/him), Undergraduate Research Assistant (2018-2020)

Peabody Program: Human & Organizational Development (Community Leadership & Development track)

PRISM Projects: Latinx in College Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Publication: Black queer students’ counter-stories of invisibility in undergraduate STEM as a white, cisheteropatriarchal space (Journal article in the American Educational Research Journal, 2022)

Current Role: Middle school mathematics teacher in Nashville area

 

B R. Balmer (they/them), Graduate Research Assistant (2019-2022)

Peabody Program: Master’s in Community Development & Action (HOD)

PRISM Projects: Intersectionality as a Methodological Tool, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Presentation: A review of equity-oriented research for a proposed framework of equitable practices in undergraduate mathematics (Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 2021)

Current Role: Applying for graduate studies in library studies programs

Alexandria Cervantes (she/her), Undergraduate & Graduate Research Assistant (2018 – 2022

External Program Affiliations: 

McNair Scholar – Bachelor’s in Mathematics (California State University – Monterey Bay)

Masters’s in Curriculum & Instruction (Mathematics, Science & Engineering Education) at University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign

PRISM Project: Latinx in College Mathematics

PRISM Research Presentation: Detailing shifts in relational dimensions of Latinx students‘ mathematics classroom experiences between high school and college (Joint Mathematics Meetings, 2019)

Current Role: Mathematics & Computer Science instructor at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

 

Lorely Chávez (she/her), Graduate Research Assistant (2021-2022)

Vanderbilt Programs: Master’s in Public Health (School of Medicine), Master’s in Latin American Studies (Graduate School)

PRISM Projects: Latinx in College Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Publication: Faculty and student perceptions of instructional servingness in gateway mathematics courses at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (PME-NA Conference Proceeding, 2022)

Current Role: Research assistant in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center

 

Oscar Guzmán (he/him), Graduate Research Assistant (2019-2020)

Peabody Program: Master’s in Human Development Counseling with specialization in School Counseling (HOD)

PRISM Projects: COURAGE in Undergraduate Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Publication: “It seems like they purposefully try to make as many kids drop”: An analysis of logics and mechanisms of racial-gendered inequality in introductory mathematics instruction (Journal article in The Journal of Higher Education)

Current Role: Professional school counselor in Chicago area

 

Aneva Jefferson (she/her), Graduate Research Assistant (2020-2022)

Peabody Program: Master’s in Community Development & Action (HOD)

PRISM Projects: Intersectionality as a Methodological Tool, Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Presentation: Characterizing agency among gender-expansive Black and Latin* students with queer sexual identities in undergraduate STEM (Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 2022)

Current Role: Grants/programming assistant in community health

 

Elsie Kindall (she/they), Graduate Research Assistant (2022-2023)

Peabody Program: Masters in Public Policy

PRISM Project: Queer Students of Color in STEM

Current Role: Government Affairs Associate (Equality Texas)

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth King (she/her), Graduate Research Assistant (2019-2021)

Peabody Program: Master’s in Child Studies (Psychology & Human Development) with focuses on poverty and intervention and Latino & Latina studies through the Vanderbilt Graduate School

PRISM Project: Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Publication: Black queer students’ counter-stories of invisibility in undergraduate STEM as a white, cisheteropatriarchal space (Journal article in the American Educational Research Journal, 2022)

Current Role: Ph.D. student in Human Development & Family Science at University of Georgia

 

Janaya Little (she/her), Graduate Research Assistant (2021)

Peabody Program: M.Ed. in Learning, Diversity & Urban Studies

PRISM Project: Queer Students of Color in STEM

Current Role: Health equity project manager in the New York City area

 

 

 

 

Brittany L. Marshall (she/her), 2019-2024

External Program Affiliation: Ph.D. in Learning, Cognition, Instruction, and Development (Mathematics Education); Certifications in Africana Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies at Rutgers University

Current Role: Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education (San Diego State University)

 

 

 

 

R. Taylor McNeill (they/them), Doctoral Research Assistant (2019-2024)

Peabody Program: Ph.D. in Learning, Teaching & Diversity (Mathematics & Science Education concentration)

Current Role: Assistant Professor of Mathematics (Michigan State University)

 

 

 

 

Michael Parker (he/him), Graduate Research Assistant (2021)

Vanderbilt Program: Master of Science in Finance (Owen Graduate School of Management)

PRISM Project: Queer Students of Color in STEM

Current Role: Investment analyst for a capital firm

 

 

 

Rocío Posada-Castañeda (she/her), Graduate Research Assistant (2022-2023)

Vanderbilt Program: Master’s in Public Health (Global Health track)

PRISM Projects: Latinx in College Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

Current Role: Community Engagement Research Fellow (HCA Healthcare)

 

 

 

Niccolo Roditti (he/they), Graduate Research Assistant (2020-2021)

Peabody Program: M.Ed. in Community Development & Action (HOD)

PRISM Project: Queer Students of Color in STEM

PRISM Research Presentation: Characterizing agency among gender-expansive Black and Latin* students with queer sexual identities in undergraduate STEM (Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 2022)

Current Role: Graduating from master’s program at Peabody

 

 

Shalini Thinakaran (she/her), Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022-2023)

Vanderbilt Program: Biological Sciences & Latin American Studies

PRISM Projects: Latinx in College Mathematics, Queer Students of Color in STEM

Current Role: Completing Vanderbilt undergraduate program