Directors, Staff, & Doctoral Students
Directors
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Estela Mara Bensimon
Co-Director and Professor
E-Mail: bensimon@usc.edu. Phone: (213) 740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Estela Mara Bensimon, Ed.D., is a professor of higher education and co-director of the Center for Urban Education (CUE) at the USC Rossier School of... Read full bio
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Alicia C. Dowd
Co-Director and Associate Professor
E-Mail: alicia.dowd@usc.edu Phone: (213) 821-1803 Office: WPH 702 Alicia C. Dowd, Ph.D., is an associate professor of higher education at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, and co-director of the... Read full bio
Staff
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Dominic Alpuche
Business Administrator
E-Mail: alpuche@usc.edu Phone: (213) 821-1805 Office: WPH 702 Dominic Alpuche is the business administrator for the Center for Urban Education. His responsibilities include administering day-to-day business and financial operations for CUE, including personnel... Read full bio
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Rashitta Brown
Project Specialist
Email: rashittb@usc.edu Rashitta Brown is a Project Specialist at the Center for Urban Education. Prior to joining CUE, she was the Coordinator/Advisor of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Student Support Services (SSS)... Read full bio
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Edna R. Chavarry
Project Specialist
E-mail: chavarry@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-2189 Office: WPH 702F Edna R. Chavarry is a Project Specialist who serves as the primary liaison to several institutions involved in the Equity Scorecard™ process. Edna completed her... Read full bio
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Debbie Hanson
Project Specialist
E-Mail: debbiepe@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-2198 Office: WPH 702 Debbie Hanson is a Project Specialist who works on the Carnegie-funded CUE Equity Model Manual, a guide that will allow practitioners to familiarize themselves with... Read full bio
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Emily Ogle
Communications and Production Manager
Email: eogle@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-2799 Office: WPH 702 Emily is CUE’s Communications and Production Manager working with CUE's various projects. She recieved an MFA in USC’s Professional Writing Program in 2010. Her thesis... Read full bio
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Maricela Rodriguez
Budget Analyst
E-Mail: rodri24@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-0196 Office: WPH 702 Maricela Rodriguez serves as the budget analyst for CUE. Maricela has previously served three years as the student-assistant to the Finance Director of Athletics at... Read full bio
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Arlease Woods
Executive / Administrative Specialist
E-Mail: arlease@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Arlease Woods serves as the Executive Administrative Specialist for CUE. As the special assistant to co-directors Estela Bensimon and Alicia Dowd, she is a vital... Read full bio
Ph.D. Doctoral Researchers
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Robin Bishop
Provost Fellow
E-Mail: rmbishop@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Robin is a CUE Research Assistant working with Dr. Estela Bensimon. She is enrolled in USC's Ph.D program in Urban Education Policy. She earned her... Read full bio
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Megan Chase
Research Assistant
E-Mail: mhervey@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-5496 Office: WPH 702H Megan Chase is a CUE Research Assistant on the Wisconsin Transfer Equity Study, assisting Project Coordinator, Loni Bordoloi Pazich in the collaboration between the University... Read full bio
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Tiffany Jones
Dean’s Fellow
E-Mail: tiffannj@usc.edu Phone: 213-740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Tiffany Jones is a Ph.D. student at the University of Southern California and a research assistant at the Center for Urban Education. Tiffany works with Dr.... Read full bio
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Raquel Rall
Provost Fellow
E-Mail: rrall@usc.edu Phone: 213-740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Raquel Rall is a Research Assistant working with Dr. Alicia C. Dowd at the Center for Urban Education. Raquel has worked in the realm of education... Read full bio
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Misty Sawatzky
Dean’s Fellow
E-Mail: sawatzky@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Misty is a CUE research assistant working with Dr. Alicia C. Dowd. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy at USC’s Rossier... Read full bio
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Linda Taing Shieh
Research Assistant
E-Mail: lindashi@usc.edu Phone: (213) 740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Linda Taing Shieh is a Research Assistant working with Dr. Alicia C. Dowd at the Center for Urban Education (CUE). Linda has previously been involved... Read full bio
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Keith Witham
Research Assistant
E-Mail: kwitham@usc.edu Phone: 213-740-5202 Office: WPH 702 Keith is a Research Assistant working with Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon on institution and statewide implementation of CUE’s Equity Scorecard and benchmarking tools. Prior to... Read full bio
Ed.D. Doctoral Researchers
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Tomás Aguirre
Research Assistant
Email: taguirre@usc.edu Tomás Aguirre is the acting Associate Director of Housing at California State University, Dominguez Hills and a doctoral student at the University of Southern California's (USC) Rossier School of Education.... Read full bio
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Rashitta Brown
Project Specialist
Email: rashittb@usc.edu Rashitta Brown is a Project Specialist at the Center for Urban Education. Prior to joining CUE, she was the Coordinator/Advisor of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Student Support Services (SSS)... Read full bio
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Lee Ann Cornell
Research Assistant
Email: lcornell@usc.edu Lee Ann Cornell is the Graduate Education Program Director for City of Hope, a cancer center in Duarte, CA. She provides administrative leadership and coordination for the hospital’s Irell &... Read full bio
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Svetlana V. Levonisova
Research Assistant
Email: levoniso@usc.edu Svetlana V. Levonisova is a doctoral student at the USC Rossier School of Education. An international student from Russia, Levonisova’s research interests focus on issues of equity in educational outcomes... Read full bio
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Lorena Patton
Research Assistant
Email: ljpatton@usc.edu Lorena Patton is a doctoral student at USC’s Rossier School of Education, studying educational leadership with a focus on higher education administration. Patton has extensive work experience with TRIO and... Read full bio
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Cecilia Santiago
Research Assistant
Email: santiagc@usc.edu Phone: 213-740-6800 Office: WPH 702 Cecilia Santiago is a Research Assistant and a doctoral student at USC’s Rossier School of Education. Her dissertation focuses on identifying the ways in which faculty... Read full bio
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Peggy J. Smith
Research Assistant
Email: peggysmi@usc.edu Peggy J. Smith is a geography instructor at California State University, Fullerton and Fullerton College. She teaches a variety of courses including human, physical, global, and California geography, as well... Read full bio
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Chelvi Subramaniam
Research Assistant
Email: thamizhs@usc.edu Chelvi Subramaniam is a professor of English, communication studies, journalism and ESL, and currently the chair of the Humanities, ESL and Foreign Languages Division at the El Camino College, Compton... Read full bio
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Erin Vines
Research Assistant
Email: vines@usc.edu Erin Vines serves as the Dean of Counseling and Special Services at Solano Community College in Fairfield, California. Erin oversees General Counseling, Transfer Center, Career Center, Discipline, Grievances, DSPS, EOPS,... Read full bio
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Christiane R. Woerner
Research Assistant
Email: woerner@usc.edu An English and ESL teacher at community colleges in Southern California for 10 years, Christiane R. Woerner specializes in teaching academic writing and reading at the pre-collegiate level. Since 2005,... Read full bio