Maria Jose Melendrez

Maria Jose Melendrez (she/her; they/them) is a Ph.D. student at Stanford University in the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Policy Studies in Education (SHIPS) program, with a cross-area specialization in Race, Inequality, and Language in Education (RILE). Their research focuses on equity and access in higher education, with particular interest in the relationship between organizational structures, institutional culture, and the experiences of institutionally marginalized populations. They are especially interested in how students and leaders of color with intersecting social identities—such as race, class, and disability—experience, navigate, and shape educational institutions.

With over a decade of professional experience in higher education, including roles in academic affairs, student affairs, and international education, Maria Jose has led and supported equity-focused initiatives. Her work has involved close collaboration with students, faculty, and staff to develop strategic goals and advance inclusion efforts. As an undergraduate, she co-founded Pitzer College’s First-Gen student program and later contributed to student success initiatives at Pomona College. At Loyola Marymount University, she helped expand access to global programs by securing institutional funding to support the participation of first-generation, low-income students.

Maria Jose is currently an EDGE Fellow at Stanford and a member of the university’s Public Scholarship Collaborative. She previously served as a RISE Fellow with NAFSA: Association of International Educators and was an Undergraduate Research Fellow with the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, focusing on undocumented student advocacy, critical methodologies, and collaborative ethnography.

She holds an M.A. in Higher Education from Claremont Graduate University, where she also completed the Allies of Dreamers Certificate—and a B.A. in Sociology, magna cum laude, from Pitzer College.