Research Team

Director, Policy and Research

Maryam Lucía Portillo, Ed.M., M.A.

maryam.portillo@austin.utexas.edu

Maryam comes to the RACE lab after a decade working as an administrator, teacher, and researcher in the field of Education. She has a passion for integrating research into practice and policy. Her desire to understand how intersectionality and structural inequalities impact communities of color led her to pursue an Ed.M. degree in research in the field of Prevention Science and Practice with a focus on program evaluation for school-based intervention programs from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She continued her research at Stanford University where she received a M.A. in Race, Inequality, and Language in Education with a focus on child and adolescent development. 

Having had the opportunity to become a mother several years ago, Maryam developed a keen interest in learning more about early childhood education, and became invested in learning about the practices and policies that optimize the social and emotional development of children in early childhood education settings. She is excited to be working with Dr. Ibekwe-Okafor in the research she is leading to inform social policies and practitioner-led interventions through the science of human development. 

Amber Fowler

Amber Fowler is a third year Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, in the Early Childhood Education program in the College of Education. Amber is an Austin Texas native and Early childhood educator who taught Kindergarten for 6 years. Amber is interested in racialized school closures and black early childhood experiences. She is also interested in teacher education programs and teacher agency in the classroom.

Chibuike Kalu

Chibuike Kalu is a second year Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin, in the African and African Diaspora Studies Department. He is interested in the social and emotional development of children developing in rural Nigeria. Specifically, exploring the links between caregiver-child attachment, structural barriers, and child outcomes. He hopes to influence local and national development agendas to promote the wellbeing of young children in Nigeria.

Kaeleigh Hernandez

Kaeleigh Hernandez is a second-year doctoral student in the Early Childhood Education program at the University of Texas at Austin, in the College of Education. Her research interests focus on educational equity, child care quality, and the cultural assets of children and families, with a particular interest in investigating these issues across various early care and education systems. Informed by her background in early childhood policy and advocacy, Kaeleigh aims to redefine notions of child care quality by critically examining the experiences of multiply marginalized children and families. Through her work, she seeks to highlight the pivotal role early care and education systems and programs play in fostering positive academic, social, and emotional development for young children.

Alexandra Parker

Alexandra is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in English with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is interested in equity and policy research, with a focus on addressing racial disparities in healthcare. An advocate for universal healthcare, she aims to contribute to research that informs policies promoting racial and health equity. She plans to attend law school to become a civil rights attorney, using law and policy to drive systemic change in healthcare and social justice.

Isabella Sanchez

Isabella Sanchez is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Government with a minor in English. Isabella is interested in contributing to research that informs social policies, specifically policies that focus on racial inequalities and racial justice in efforts to promote young children’s positive development. She aims to continue contributing to research initiatives that inform social policies, emphasizing the importance of the law as a tool for social change and equity.

Kynadi Jones

Kynadi Jones is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Entrepreneurship and a certificate in Criminal Law, Justice, and Inequality. She is interested in reducing recidivism and first-time incarceration in Black and Brown populations through policy reform and effective intervention in prisons, communities, and schools. She aims to disrupt the school to prison pipeline by conducting research that leads to effective interventions and policy-level reform.

Ilana Yoon

Ilana Yoon graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Ilana is interested in exploring the relationship of gender and racial identity with mental health and life outcomes. She is especially interested in the further development of multicultural psychotherapy models and the broader utilization of culturally competent care. 

Kam McQueen

Kam McQueen (they/them) graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies. Kam is interested in becoming involved in research on the psychological effects of anti-black discrimination. They are especially interested in addressing the unique problems faced by black people due to systemic and interpersonal racism.

Miah Robertson

Miah Robertson is a 2024 graduate from Hampton University, where she received a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Leadership Studies. Miah is interested in studying emotional well-being and hidden resilience among minoritized populations, specifically Black children and families, involved in welfare systems. She aims to focus on how strengths-based perspectives in child welfare can inform more equitable and culturally sound social policies. She is particularly interested in how childcare, parenting, and education programs can support families when implemented with equity and cultural relevance. Ultimately, her goal is to contribute to policies and practices that ensure fair distribution of resources and foster resilience, equity, and positive development for minoritized families.

Precious Ngwayarudza

Precious Ngwayarudza is a Developmental Science Ph.D. student in the Human Development and Family Science Department at North Dakota State University. Her research focuses on emotional well-being, personality disorders, and coping strategies among at risk children aged 0 to 10 years. Her goal is to contribute to the development of evidence-based and culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs that enhance the well-being of these children.