TERESA IRENE GONZALES, IRT ’06
University of Massachusetts Sociology Assistant Professor Teresa Gonzales has won Ford Foundation support for her “Joyful Cities” research in Lawrence, MA. Learn more about Gonzales’ professional experience and education.
by Brittany Zorn, IRT ’13, Arts and Sciences Specialist, IRT
One of IRT’s greatest assets is by far our expansive network of alumni. Since joining the IRT team in 2016, I have had the pleasure of meeting, celebrating, and working alongside so many incredible scholars, educators, leaders, and artists through the IRT alumni family. Engaging with alumni on social media, alumni who serve as Summer Faculty for our Summer Workshop, alumni who sit on the Advisory Board, and alumni who reach back out to the program for one reason or another has always been an enriching part of my experience as a staff-member-who-is-also-an-alum. In 2021, I had the opportunity to work with our alumni in a new way, through the External SOP Advisor role. We sent out an invitation to serve as an SOP Advisor in our blog, on the IRT Alumni Network, and on social media (FB, IG), and I was heartened to say we received responses from more than two dozen alumni with an interest in the role!
Continue reading “Alumni Advisors Contribute to 2021 Cohort Success”
Monica was named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellowship is unrestricted and unofficially known as the “Genius Grant.” The MacArthur Foundation considers that the fellowship “is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential.” Congratulations, Monica, on this prestigious award.
Monica Muñoz Martinez, IRT ’05
Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Mayra Canizales Cruz, IRT ’07
It may be hard to believe that in just 3 months we will welcome 2022. For many educators, 2020 was the year that flipped our lives upside down and forced us to (re)discover elements of ourselves as people, family members, teachers, and leaders. We tended to others before tending to ourselves and had little to no opportunity to stop and reflect about all that we had learned and unlearned in the months of a global health pandemic and the racial justice movement of our lifetime.
A year ago, I was a 7-year veteran principal in the nation’s capital and was launching the first-ever virtual school year. It was both exciting and unnerving and I struggled to find my new leadership voice in a virtual setting. My superpower was leading with love, justice, and vulnerability- everything else felt like a test or like I was functioning off gut instinct. Throughout the months, we heard scholars, organic intellectuals, elders, parents, and students alike say the same thing, “We can’t go back to what was normal. Normal wasn’t working for our Black and Brown children.” Families were officially seen and acknowledged as co-educators and the school and family partnerships were stronger than ever. We finally saw a light that felt bright enough to follow, one that would lead us to deconstruct, reimagine and rebuild a new (a better) educational system for our children. This was the chance and for a large part, it was not taken.
Continue reading “Reflecting on the Past and Our Collective Strength & Influence as IRT Alumni”Renée Wilmot and LaShawnda Brooks are excited to announce the inaugural members of the IRT Alumni Committee.
Karina Fernandez (she/her)
Roles: Curriculum & Summer Workshop Consultant, Events Manager
IRT Class of 2006
Helen Gong (she/her)
Role: 2020 Cohort Representative
IRT Class of 2020
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 
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