The annual IRT Summer Workshop gathers current scholars, alumni, university deans, and liaisons during its month-long virtual program. IRT Alumni design the curriculum and engage with scholars through a series of presentations, seminars, and workshops. For more on the Summer Workshop Framework, please refer to a previous post:
2025 Summer Workshop Curriculum Coordinators
Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07 & ’10
Dean of Student & Community Development; Associate Professor-Community & Justice Studies & Black Studies Affiliate Faculty-Education Studies, Allegheny College
Heather Moore Roberson, Ph.D. (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a strategic visionary and transformative leader with 17 years of experience teaching and leading in higher education. Dr. Roberson is an award-winning leader, teacher, and researcher who advances initiatives related to race, equity, and justice in higher education. She has published articles on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Academic Leader and facilitated presentations on culturally relevant leadership for the Council of Independent Colleges and Leadership in Higher Education conferences. In 2024, Heather was listed as one of the top 100 Black Trailblazers in the state of Pennsylvania by City & State Magazine—named for leaders in politics, business, and education.
In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Heather is a tenured member of the faculty at Allegheny College in Community & Justice Studies and Black Studies. She is the first Black woman in the College’s history to attain tenure. Dr. Roberson is the recipient of the Thoburn Award for Teaching Excellence and continues teaching courses on race, identity, and education in the United States. As a scholar and lifelong learner, she conducts research in pop culture, Black Studies, Education, and Black youth masculinity. In 2024, her edited collection Thinking about Black Education: An Interdisciplinary Reader (with Dr. Hilton Kelly, Elon University) won the Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. Heather received two Bachelor’s degrees in Educational Studies and American Studies from Trinity College (Hartford, CT), a M.A. in American Studies from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue University in 2015.
Ryan Sermon, IRT ’10
Doctoral Candidate, Higher Education, University of Arizona
Originally from Flushing, Queens, Ryan Sermon is a dynamic higher education administrator, educator, and advocate for college access and student equity. A proud graduate of Wheaton College (MA), Ryan earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 2011 as a member of Wheaton Posse 8 – a nationally recognized cohort-based leadership program. During his undergraduate years, he studied abroad in Cairo, Egypt, exploring the intersections of Anthropology, Egyptology, and Sociology, an experience that shaped his global perspective and lifelong commitment to cultural learning.
Following graduation, Ryan relocated to Tucson, Arizona, where he pursued a Master of Arts in Higher Education at the University of Arizona, and completed a Certificate in College Teaching. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education at the same institution, with research interests focused on college access, equity, and the sociological dimensions of student success.
Over the past decade, Ryan has held administrative roles at a range of institutions, including Pima Community College, Cochise College, Southern New Hampshire University, and most recently at the University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where he served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. His leadership portfolio spans student conduct, mental health and wellness, academic advising, basic needs programming, and cross-campus student success initiatives. He also completed over 2,700 hours of national service through Arizona Serve / AmeriCorps, providing college access support, mentoring, and career development resources across southern Arizona.
A passionate educator, Ryan has taught a variety of undergraduate and high school courses in first-year success, major exploration, learning strategies, metacognitive development, and sociology. Since 2022, he has also served as summer faculty with the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) and currently serves as a Curriculum Coordinator, shaping graduate school preparation programs for aspiring educators and scholars from underrepresented backgrounds.
At the core of Ryan’s work is a belief in the transformative power of education, and a steadfast dedication to empowering students from all walks of life to thrive academically, professionally, and personally.
Renée Wilmot, IRT ’12 & ’17
Assistant Professor of Black Feminisms, Genders & Sexualities, Michigan State University
Renée Wilmot, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University. Her scholarship and teaching focus on social foundations of education, and race, equity, and intersectionality. In her research, she primarily explores two themes: (1) the historical legacy of Black women as educators and activists in the Black community, and (2) Black girls’ practices of thriving and resisting in white supremacist schooling structures. Her approach to research draws on archival research methods, participatory action research, and Black feminist epistemologies. Her dissertation, “Pilate’s Wine House: Reimagining Black Women’s Histories and Futures,” won AERA’s Arts-Based Educational Research 2024 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Additionally, she is an award-winning secondary English/language arts educator and also an alumna of the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars Program at Boston College, where she earned her M.Ed. with a concentration in Urban Education and Secondary English Education.
2025 Summer Workshop Faculty
Guadalupe (Lupita) Barrientos, IRT ’20
Doctoral Candidate and Research Fellow, Educational Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania
I am a doctoral candidate in Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. After undergraduate study, I received my Master’s degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, then transitioned to a career in education. As a former Kindergarten and bilingual second grade educator in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, I’m passionate about equitable education opportunities for racialized bilingual students. My current research focuses on the co-naturalization of race and language and the impacts of these processes on Latinx communities, families, and students, especially as they experience them at the intersections of other minoritized identities. I use community-based and participatory action research (PAR) methods and methodologies to engage in equitable, community-centered research that resists extractive research paradigms.
At Penn, I’m currently a Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement Fellow (PGAEF), a fellowship program which recognizes students involved in community-engaged scholarship, including Academically Based Community Service (ABCS), participatory action research, and service-learning. I’m also the Community Outreach Chair for the Fontaine Society, a doctoral student organization that provides academic support, networking, and a peer-support system for doctoral students at Penn from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. I’ve also served as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Working Papers in Educational Linguistics (WPEL), a student managed research journal. Lastly, outside of Penn, I’m the High School Programming Advisor at the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE), a local nonprofit serving the Latinx community of Norristown, Pennsylvania. In my role, I support CCATE youth in developing their post-secondary plans and, as researchers and changemakers, in investigating issues that matter to them and improving the institutions and organizations meant to serve them.
This summer, I’m excited to meet the latest IRT cohort and hear about the ways they’re hoping to change the world for the better. My favorite aspect of the Summer Workshop is hearing the questions you all are asking, the knowledge you’re seeking, learning about the life experiences you bring to the table, and how these things are shaping your hopes and dreams for your future.
Aaron Benavidez, IRT ’11
Doctoral Candidate, Sociology, Harvard University
Aaron Benavidez is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. His research examines institutional and city-level factors shaping community college selection, experience, and persistence. A Harvard Inequality and Social Policy Doctoral Fellow and Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative (HMUI) Doctoral Fellow, Aaron has also been supported by the GSAS Division of Social Sciences and the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI).
Aaron co-founded the Contemporary Ethnography and Inequality Workshop at Harvard University, and, more recently, co-founded the Society for Emerging Ethnographers, an interdisciplinary organization with global reach. In 2018, Aaron won the Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates, given once an academic year to the five most outstanding doctoral instructors of more than 2,000 Teaching Fellows throughout the university. In 2021, Aaron was also nominated for the Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising at Harvard University, and, in 2025, nominated for the John R. Marquand Prize for Exceptional Advising and Counseling of Harvard Undergraduates.
In addition to his research program bridging higher education and urban inequality literatures, Aaron was Founder and President of the Harvard GSAS Latinx Student Association; former Vice President of External Affairs and Vice President of Finance of the Harvard LGBTQ @GSAS Association; former Vice President of Academic Affairs and Emeritus for the Du Bois Graduate Society; and continuing Sociology Department Representative and Member of the Funding Committee for the GSAS Graduate Student Council (GSC), among other leadership positions at Harvard University.
This summer, Aaron is honored to be IRT Faculty. He is absolutely thrilled to support the empowerment of next-generation scholars in the weeks ahead.
Armando Martinez, IRT ’19
Assistant Director of Auxiliary and Operations, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
For this summer, as with every summer, I am most looking forward to learning alongside scholars the beauty of what scholarship can provide people. Every year, the unique interest of all the IRT scholars never ceases to amaze me and it truly is an honor to be a part of such an amazing intellectual community. Armando holds a Master’s of Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University.
Astrid Moises, IRT ’08
Pre-K Cluster Literacy teacher, District Pre-K center, New York City Department of Education
My name is Astrid Moises, I am currently a Pre-K cluster Literacy teacher at a District Pre-K center for the New York City Department of Education located in Howard Beach. I have been teaching Early Childhood for 19 years. This year, I have taken on many different roles such as providing a Professional Learning Series for New Teachers as well as doing a Read Aloud workshop based on Molly Ness’ book Read Aloud for All Learners. I am also in charge of the Block Room, where Pre-K Students are able to utilize blocks and other accessories to create structures for a week and then present them to their classmates and families. I have co-facilitated Block Room workshops under the leadership of Dr. Ursula Davis. I am also part of the Curriculum team, developing guides and organizing materials for teachers.
I have a Master of Arts in Philosophy and Education from Teachers College of Columbia University and a Master of Science in Early Childhood General Education and Students with Disabilities.
I was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. My parents are both from the Dominican Republic and I speak fluent Spanish. I live with my 8 year old son Maddox Love and husband Gabriel. I am passionate about TEACHING and aim to help each student see their true potential. I look forward to being thought partners this summer, learning from and developing ideas from one another!
Mariana Sánchez, IRT ’17, ’22
3rd Year Ph.D. Student, University of Maryland (UMD); M.A. Reading and Bi-Literacy, Boston College
Mariana Sánchez is a two-time IRT alumna, bilingual educator, Ph.D. student in the Applied Linguistics and Language Education program at UMD, and novice researcher whose work is grounded in equity and the belief that all children bring rich linguistic and cultural resources to the classroom. With seven years of experience teaching in dual language elementary settings, she now supports teacher preparation as a teaching assistant in courses focused on best practices for literacy instruction for multilingual learners. Her research explores biliteracy development through a humanizing pedagogy, centering storytelling, translingualism, and community cultural wealth. As a first-generation Latina scholar, Mariana is committed to reimagining literacy education in ways that honor students’ lived experiences and promote agency, belonging, and justice across classrooms and communities.
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Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 
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