2006 Cohort – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Alumni Accolades, March 2026

Ben Vinson III, IRT ’92
Dr. Vinson was named a Harvard Hutchins Center fellow at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute. Congratulations!

Stephen Zrike, IRT ’01
Congratulations to Dr. Zrike, who was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey as Secretary of Education. Read the official press release on this appointment.

Karina Fernández Montilla, IRT ’06
Karina received the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Award by the ACE Women’s Network in Massachusetts. The award honors a champion of change whose vision and contributions are focused on changing structural systems for the advancement of women in Massachusetts colleges and universities. Read more about the award and Karina’s work.

Karina also received a staff recognition award at the Black History Month Showcase that recognizes staff and faculty at Hampshire College who often work behind the scenes without enough appreciation. Congratulations!

I am honored to have been nominated and to be recognized alongside colleagues who are so dedicated to supporting transformative educational spaces like Hampshire College.

Alumni Accolades, October 2025

Ricardo Valencia, IRT ’06
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District‘s school board and superintendent have been awarded the 2025 LEAD Award at the California Latino School Board’s Association Unity Conference in San Diego. Valencia is one of the school board members who was recognized for our leadership work.

Ricardo Valencia, IRT ’06 (second in from left)

Gabriel Peoples, IRT ’07
Gabriel’s new book, Goin’ Viral: Uncontrollable Black Performance, was published in the University of Illinois Press’ prestigious New Black Studies series in July. In it, Gabriel grapples with how Black people (as well as Black representations) have been going viral since before the Internet and after it. In each chapter, Gabriel focuses on a performance, considering its past, present, and future, and offers insight into how it went viral and continues to do so.

De La Salle Academy: Celebrating 40 Years of Academic Excellence, Access, and Opportunity in Middle School Education

Dr. Angel Gonzalez, IRT ’06 shares his professional journey and focus on the pivotal role of middle school education

Dr. Angel Gonzalez, De La Salle Academy alum class of ’99 and IRT ’06, is the Head of School at De La Salle Academy (DLSA). After attending IRT’s summer internship program, Angel completed his undergraduate degree in sociology at Hunter College-CUNY and was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley for a M.A. and Ph.D. program in Social and Cultural Studies in Education. Angel returned to his middle school alma mater as the social studies teacher and after serving as Academic Dean, Director of Admissions, and Principal, he became Head of School in 2021, taking over from the Founder of the School, Brother Brian Carty, FSC. Angel has taught as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Africana and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies and the School of Education at Hunter College, CUNY, and as an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership Program at the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2024, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

Alumni Accolades, June 2022

Karina Fernández Montilla, IRT ‘06 is a recipient of the 2022 Dr. Sue Estler University of Maine Higher Education Distinguished Alumnx Award. This award is given by the University of Maine Higher Education graduate programs in honor of Dr. Suzanne E. Estler, Associate Professor, Emeritus of Higher Education. Karina is Assistant Dean of Advising and Director of the James Baldwin Scholars Program at Hampshire College.

Teresa Gonzales, IRT ‘06 will be joining the sociology department at Loyola University Chicago this fall.

Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07 was appointed Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Allegheny College. Congratulations!

Alumni Accolades, March 2022

Rachel Ansong, IRT ’14

Rachel’s poetry collection, BLACK BALLAD, published by Bull City Press will be available in Summer 2022. You can preorder a copy or find out more about the author and the collection on Rachel’s website.

Yasmin Elgoharry, IRT ‘14, ’20
Yasmin is a recipient of the University of Connecticut’s (UCONN) Neag School 2022 Alumni Board Scholarship. Yasmin is a doctoral student at UCONN in Leading, Learning & Educational Policy with a concentration in higher education racial justice and decolonization.

Elizabeth Gill, IRT ‘11 and Ashley Johnson, IRT ’06
Congratulations to AERA Ed Change SIG members Elizabeth Gill and Ashley Johnson on the recent publication of their paper: “We, as parents, do have a voice”: Learning from community-based programs effectively engaging parents in urban communities. Urban Education.