Melinda is an early childhood special education teacher in Colorado. She is a fifth-year doctoral student at the University of Colorado Denver. Her program focuses on leadership for educational equity with an emphasis on Latinx learners. She is also completing a Masters in Research and Evaluation Methods. In 2009, Melinda graduated from MSU Denver with a BS in Business, Management. From there she went on to do six years in corporate accounting. She returned to MSU Denver in 2012 to pursue her teaching license, then to CU Denver for a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Melinda then went on to UNC to receive her ECSE licensure, and returned to CU Denver for her EdD and an additional Masters. She has been a student on the Auraria campus for over 20 years! Melinda’s three passions are early childhood, special education, and culturally and diverse education. As a graduate assistant at The Evalulation Center, Melinda is practicing the skills and methodologies that she has learned in her REM program and is currently supporting the evaluation of the NxtGEN Teacher Quality Partnership grant, among other work related to her interests and passions.

Melinda’s other three passions are her children, Liliana (5), Lucas (3), and Nayeli (2). She and her husband, Peter, enjoy eating Mexican and Italian food, hanging out with their dog, Jackson, and spending too much money at Target.