The Team
“Friends in the struggle for educational justice.”
Though founding members Tania Soto-Valenzuela and Dr. Manuel Luis Espinoza could not have known at the time, the history of the R2L Dignity Lab stretches back to their participation in a 2007 summer academic program for migrant students. What they did know, was that there were matters regarding the education of unauthorized immigrant youth that only society could answer. At the same time, Dr. Espinoza created EDFN 1000 or Equality, Rights, and Education, a Core offering that would become the crucible from which R2L would draw its undergraduate research associates.
- Founders
- Manuel Luis Espinoza, Ph.D. (nom de plume: Onisimos)
- Tania Soto Valenzuela (nom de plume: Maikoda)
- Members
- mandy wong (nom de plume: iristaria)
- Maria Sanchez Velasco (nom de plume: Ari)
- Frida Silva
- Raquel Isaac
- Adria Padilla Chavez (nom de plume: Coyolxauhqui)
- Lema Alali
- Charla Agnoletti (nom de plume: Starla)
- Soraya Latiff
- Katie Ruiz Gonzalez
- Verinique Moua
- Spencer Childress
- Victor Sanchez
- Duy Tran
- Skye O’Toole
- Taylor Smith
- Valencia Seidel
- Tamara Lhungay
- Diego Ulibarri
- Arliss Howard
- Advisors
- Edelina Burciaga
- Enrique Lopez
- Remi Kalir
- Rene Galindo
- Friends of R2L
- Shirin Vossoughi & Walter Kitundu
- Dr. Mike Rose
Manuel Espinoza
I am Director of R2L Dignity Lab, its faculty shepherd. Almost all our research associates were once undergraduates in my Equality, Rights, and Education course. As one member put it, that is where I would look for students who had that spark, that fire, those who could not sit easy. R2L is an ongoing research project constituted by six waves of undergraduates, many of whom are now first-generation graduates and young professionals. Recently, we have added our first group of graduate students. As a collective, we are “dignity scholars” actively plying our learning in the politically-charged sphere of public education.
