We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/O/XS del Maíz Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/O/X Educational Success

Gilberto Q. Conchas is the Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author and coauthor of over a dozen books—including The Color of Success; Streetsmart Schoolsmart; Cracks in the Schoolyard; Educational Policy Goes to School; The Complex Web of Inequality; The Chicana/o/x Dream; Race Frames in Education; and Repertoires of Racial Resistance. Dr. Conchas has been a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the University of California at Irvine and visiting professor at the University of Southern California, San Francisco State University, University of Washington, University of Barcelona, and the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara. He was also Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Nancy Acevedo is Professor of Educational Leadership Doctoral Studies and Inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow at California State University, San Bernardino. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Acevedo engages with critical race theory and Chicana feminist theories to examine pathways to and through college for Students of Color, with a focus on college readiness, retention in STEM, and transfer preparation. Formerly, Dr. Acevedo was Director of Faculty Development for the Watson College of Education and Co-Director of Development for Women of Color in Academia at California State University, San Bernardino. She co-led the development of the community college specialization in the EdD program and supports community colleges with staff and faculty development efforts, particularly related to issues of equity, inclusion, and STEM. Alongside Dr. Gilberto Conchas, she co-authored The Chicana/o/x Dream, which received a book award from the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education. A first-generation student, Dr. Acevedo began her journey working in the agricultural fields of Yolo County, California. With support from various TRiO Program resources, she earned her BA in Chicano Studies, Social Welfare, and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA in Mexican American Studies from San Jose State University, and her PhD in Education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Victor DeAlba is a PhD Candidate and graduate research assistant at The Pennsylvania State University. He was raised in the city of Lompoc, located in the Central Coast of California. He earned his AA in sociology from Allan Hancock College. He then transferred to UCLA where he earned his BA in sociology. His current research includes the use of transformative approaches to amplify Latina/o/x student voice, educational opportunity for students of color, and inequity in urban school systems.