Cynthia Estrada is a doctoral student specializing in Race and Ethnic Studies within the Social Science and Comparative Education program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Identifying as a first-generation college graduate and Latina, her research centers race and racism to examine issues related to higher education access and equity for minoritized student populations. She is particularly interested in better understanding how current college access strategies construct and reproduce racialized narratives that center dominant ideologies. During her tenure as a doctoral student, Cynthia has developed an expertise in qualitative research, with a focus in utilizing critical and collaborative research methodologies including Research Practice Partnerships and Plàticas. These research approaches are informed by her training using Critical Race Theory and Chicana Feminist frameworks to examine the ways intersecting forms of oppression are used to subjugate Communities of Color within schooling contexts. Cynthia currently serves as a Research Associate for the Institute of Immigration, Globalization and Education at UCLA, Graduate Student Researcher at the UCLA Vice-Provost’s Initiative for Pre-College Scholars program, and Lead Graduate Student Researcher at the CCHALES research collective at San Diego State University. She previously earned her MA in Education from UCLA and a BA in English and Applied Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
