Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department Chair
Biography
Alonzo Flowers, Ph.D.
ELPS Department Chair & Associate Professor
Email | CV
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty
Biography
Sofía Bahena, Ed.D., is an assistant professor of education at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research interests include identifying, promoting, and leveraging community-based resources – as well as sound education policy – to create pathways to (and through) higher education for under-represented populations in the United States. Dr. Bahena is currently working on a project, “Constructing a Latina/o Educational Pipeline in Texas”, to identify policies and other structural factors that either hinder or promote student educational attainment. This project is funded by the UTSA College of Education and Human Development Faculty Research Award. Citywide, she serves on the City of San Antonio SA2020 Commission of Education (District 7) and is President-elect for the local Harvard Club of San Antonio. Dr. Bahena is originally from San Antonio. A San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) alum, she graduated from Fox Tech High School. She received a B.A. in sociology and business administration from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (Cambridge, MA).
Sofia Bahena, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Email | CV
Biography
Curtis A. Brewer is a Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests include political action by educators, the utilization of democratic theory in educational arenas, and critical policy studies.
Dr. Brewer received his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. He also taught at Clemson University.
Curtis Brewer, Ph.D.
Professor
Email | CV
Biography
Abraham DeLeon, Ph.D.
Professor
Email | CV | Website
Biography
Claudia García-Louis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Email | CV
Biography
Guadalupe C. Gorordo, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Practice for the Principal Certification Program in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University in College Station. For her dissertation titled “Mexican-American Teachers Tell Their Stories of Success in the Midst of a Colonia”, Gorordo received the inaugural Excellence in Education Award from the College of Education at Texas A&M International University. Gorordo holds several educator certifications - Early Childhood, Bilingual/ESL, Special Education, Principal, and Superintendent. She has years of leadership experience as a campus principal, associate superintendent, and deputy superintendent across urban and rural school districts. Dr. Gorordo most recently worked with the educational leadership department at UT-Tyler as a principal practicum field supervisor and assisted students with the new principal certification exam.
Dr. Guadalupe Gorordo
Assistant Professor in Practice
Email | CV
Biography
Victoria Kim is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Prior to joining the ELPS department, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin for the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC) project funded by the William T. Grant Foundation. Her research interests include examining the inequitable structures in P-20 settings, and educational programs, practices, and policies including Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) that can shape the experiences of racially and ethnically minoritized students. Dr. Kim received a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Education at the University of California, Davis, and Ed.M. in International Educational Development with a focus on Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received a Ph.D. in Social Sciences and Comparative Education with a specialization in Race/Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Assistant Professor
Email | CV
Biography
Biography
Juan Manuel Niño is a Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Niño's public educator experience includes secondary science teacher, ESL teacher, athletic coach, campus, and district leader. His primary research focuses on school leadership for school improvement.
Current research interests center on school district leadership, leadership preparation for social justice, Latino leadership and intersectionalities. Niño's preferred method of inquiry is qualitative research to better understand the complexities of schools as evolving systems. Other interests include instructional supervision for diverse students, instructional leadership and multicultural studies.
Juan Manuel Niño, Ph.D.
Biography
Nathern Okilwa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Okilwa earned his PhD in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the ranks of higher education, Okilwa's experience and commitment to education spans 13 years of general and special education teaching in K12 settings across a variety of sociocultural contexts. Okilwa taught for six years in a rural farming community school in western Kenya. After his master's degree in special education from the University of Wyoming, Okilwa taught K12 special education in two different school districts in Wyoming. While teaching at the high school in Laramie, WY, Okilwa helped design, implement, and coordinate a program for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities. In Austin, TX, Okilwa taught students at the Alternative Learning Center; students who were suspended from their home schools for a variety of infractions. These professional experiences as well as personal background have shaped Okilwa's scholarly interests and commitment to educational outcomes for disadvantaged or marginalized students.
Nathern Okilwa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biography
Mariela A. Rodríguez, Ph.D. is a full professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research focuses on leadership practices that support equitable learning environments for culturally and linguistically diverse students. She has published several co-edited books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles. At the national level, Dr. Rodríguez is currently the Vice President of Division A: Administration, Organization, and Leadership within the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She is also a Past-President of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). In 2021, Dr. Rodríguez received the Jay D. Scribner Mentoring Award through UCEA in recognition of her dedication to mentoring graduate students and emerging scholars.
Mariela Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Professor
Email | CV
Biography
Vanessa A. Sansone is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Her areas of research interest focus on understanding college affordability, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and power structures & governance on the trajectories, experiences, and opportunities of historically underserved students. Dr. Sansone’s empirical work has been presented at several national conferences and published in such outlets as the Review of Higher Education, Review of Educational Research, and New Directions for Student Development Services. Additionally, she has contributed policy briefs, book chapters, book reviews, and web-based writings.
In 2020, she was named one of the 35 most outstanding women in higher education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Higher Education from UTSA, a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration from UTSA, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio.
Assistant Professor
Biography
Dr. Sendejo's educational background includes the attainment of a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership Studies from Our Lady of the Lake University in 2023. In addition, she has a Master of Arts in Bicultural Bilingual Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Sendejo has served in various roles such as administrator, educational specialist, teacher, and K-12 education professional. Notably, she held the position of Chief Academic Officer for South San Antonio Independent School District (SSAISD) and later assumed the role of interim Superintendent for the same district. Additionally, her contributions extend to a five-year tenure as Associate Superintendent at Jubilee Charter School.
Assistant Professor in Practice
Biography
David P. Thompson is a Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he served as chair from 2005-2012. He received his B.S. (Physical Education), M.S. (Educational Administration), and Ph.D. (Educational Administration) from Texas A&M University. For his doctoral dissertation, titled “Job Satisfaction: A Synthesis of Research in the Educational Administration Quarterly”, David received outstanding dissertation awards from both Division A (Administration) of the American Educational Research Association and the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration.
David is in his 30th year in public education, having served as a mathematics teacher and golf coach in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, a high school assistant principal in Spring Independent School District, and a faculty member and department chair at both UTSA and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Professor
Emeritus
Bruce Barnett, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Email | CV
Professor Emeritus
Biography
Page A. Smith, is a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research pursuits target organizational studies and involve quantitative analysis. Specifically, his scholarly areas of emphasis include organizational climate and health, institutional trust, collective efficacy, student aggression and bullying, institutional change and influence. Accordingly, his most recent publications (Educational Administration Quarterly, The International Journal of Education Management, Journal of School Leadership and Journal of Education Administration) reflect his contributions to the field in these areas. He is currently conducting research in the areas of school culture, change orientation and leadership influence. Smith pursues an active role in connecting theory to practice via graduate teaching forums, site consultations, staff development initiatives, and school-community liaison servicing. He serves as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at UTSA.
Professor Emeritus
College of Education and Human Development
Main Building | One UTSA Circle | San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-458-4370 | education@utsa.edu