Senior Research Fellow at the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
Ph.D. in Urban Education, 2024
Maritza E. Salazar, PhD is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. As a PhD student at the USC Pullias Center, she was a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow, a UCEA Barbara L. Jackson Scholar, a Summer Research Fellow with the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness and a research intern with the VERA Institute of Justice. Her experience includes teaching at correctional facilities, working with youth at continuation high schools and collaborating with community college re-entry programs. Her research interests bridge the K-12 and higher education pipeline and are connected to college access, high school-to-college transition, criminal legal system involvement and girls and women of color. Maritza holds a PhD in Urban Education Policy, an M.Ed in Educational Counseling and an M.S. in Criminal Justice from USC and a B.A. in Sociology from UC Riverside.