American Council on Education
Dr. Lorelle Espinosa
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recently named Dr. Lorelle Espinosa as program director for diversity in STEM higher education.
Dr. Espinosa has spent her entire career firmly entrenched in education research and policy.
Currently vice president for research at the American Council on Education (ACE), she has been with the higher education-focused nonprofit for nearly seven years, beginning as assistant vice president for policy research and strategy in 2013. Prior to that, Dr. Espinosa worked for about two years as a senior policy analyst focused on STEM education research at the global research, evaluation and program implementation company, Abt Associates.
Her career also includes two-and-a-half years as director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Institute for Higher Education Policy as well as a stint of nearly four years at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a research analyst and project co-lead.
Dr. Espinosa’s own education includes a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of California, Davis and a Ph.D. in higher education and organizational change from UCLA.
In her new role at Sloan, Dr. Espinosa will oversee a $7 million grant portfolio focused on alleviating the underrepresentation of minorities in STEM disciplines. She will also be responsible for the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, which enables American Indian and Alaska Native students to pursue degrees in STEM fields while still participating in tribal life.
“Lorelle Espinosa has an impressive record as a change-maker in education,” says Dr. Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in a press release about the appointment. “She is an influential scholar, a passionate advocate for diversity and equity in education, and a gifted collaborator with a proven record of building effective partnerships that result in real change. We are excited that she will be joining the Sloan family to lead our efforts to make higher education more diverse, equitable, and inclusive for all.”
Dr. Espinosa will begin work at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation this summer, but officially succeeds outgoing program director, Dr. Elizabeth Boylan when she retires in December.
