Ph.D., Higher Education, University of Southern California (in progress)

Janet Rivera (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in Higher Education and Research Associate at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. She is advised by Dr. Adrián Huerta.

Before beginning her doctoral studies, Rivera was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Center for American Politics and Public Policy (CAPPP) scholar at UCLA, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology with double minors in Education Studies and Chicanx Studies. She worked as a Research Analyst at a nonprofit and later as a Research Associate II at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). At CHLA, she contributed to research projects supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs (OPA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Her asset-based research interests center on equitable education pathways and attainment for marginalized students of color, first-generation, low-income students, the intersections of juvenile justice and public health and the experiences of gang-involved youth.