People Type: Main Researchers

Dr. Francesca López is the Jim and Georgia Thompson Distinguished Professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research centers on educational practices and policies that promote equity and belonging for historically marginalized students, particularly multilingual learners and students from racially and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She began …

Deja Mason is the project manager for the CALL for Equity-Centered Leadership (CALL-ECL) team. She is a dedicated advocate for equitable work environments and cultural enrichment, leveraging her expertise in human resources and arts administration. With a mission to foster inclusivity across industries, she fearlessly challenges norms, sparks change, and empowers teams using innovative, artistic approaches. …

Dr. Daniella Molle is a qualitative researcher who conducts inquiries related to equitable education for historically underserved students. She has a background in the teaching and learning of English as an additional language. For a decade, her work focused on expanding educators’ capacity to meet the needs of multilingual students through job-embedded professional learning. Since …

Caleb Probst is a postdoctoral research associate with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), working exclusively on the CALL/ECL project. As a qualitative researcher and curriculum designer, Caleb explores new ways to teach concepts related to equity and social justice. His dissertation research involved developing card games and roleplay activities and studying their use in …

Dr. Christopher Saldaña is an assistant professor and Anna Julia Cooper fellow in the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research examines the relationship between K–12 school finance policy, practice, and politics and educational opportunity, with a particular focus on the educational opportunity of …

Edom Tesfa is a postdoctoral research associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where she is also affiliated with the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. Using participatory and ethnographic methods, her research investigates how K-12 schools and community organizations promote healthy, holistic development for low-income immigrant youth and families …