Leadership

Laura Davalos (she/her/hers)

Laura is a 3rd-year PhD student in ELPA. She received a BA in Political Science and Psychology at the University of Michigan in April 2023. Laura is also an Interdisciplinary Training Program fellow, aiming to use causal inference to evaluate policy change. Her academic focus is on creating equitable education policies within school choice systems that empower students of all backgrounds. Her recent work focuses on charter school finance management. 

Courtney Parker-West (she/her/hers)

Courtney is a 4th-year PhD student in ELPA. She came to the academy after 15 years of working in education in a variety of roles, including being a public school teacher in the rural south, community organizing, teacher coach, and strategy work in an education nonprofit, and DEI consulting. Her research examines how Black spiritual practices are integrated into educator of color learning and development spaces amid anti-Black educational policies and an increasingly hostile political climate. Using collective ethnographies and storytelling, she explores how women of color educators contend with grief, integrate identity and practice, and draw on speculative fiction to cultivate liberatory consciousness. She is an auntie, a storyteller, enjoys design and facilitation, and loves Star Trek.

Sarah Volk (she/her)

Sarah Volk is a second-year doctoral student in ELPA with a concentration in education policy analysis & evaluation. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree from ELPA. Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Sarah worked as an education research grant manager in Denver, CO, before moving back to the Midwest for graduate school.

Sarah's work focuses on K-12 school finance in the United States, specifically regarding state-level school choice policies and their effects on public school districts. 

Karina Flores (she/her/hers)

Karina Flores is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants from Wapato, a town within the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington state (shout out to the 509!). She is currently a fourth-year PhD student in ELPA focusing on school leadership. 

Karina uses horror narratives, particularly zombie metaphors, to examine the ideological foundations of principal preparation programs while offering frameworks that center community histories and knowledge systems.

Dani Magasano (she/her/hers)

Dani is a second-year doctoral student in ELPA (Higher Education strand) whose research explores how institutions can be instruments of inequities. Her research combines identity work with organizational theories to address problems in postsecondary settings for students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Originally from the St. Louis area, Dani enjoys reading, movies (especially music scores!), motorsports, and traveling.  

Dani also completed her masters degree in the ELPA department (2024) and is excited to give back to the community via LEADS. 

Xiaohan (Miley) Liu (she/her/hers)

Xiaohan is a second-year doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the School of Education's Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) program. She received her two bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Educational Studies from Trinity College, and her master's degree in International Teaching and Global Leadership (ITGL) from Johns Hopkins University with a focus on Digital Age Teaching and Learning.

Xiaohan's research interests include international students, curriculum, higher education, race & racism, and education equity.

Brittney Pemberton (she/her/hers)

Brittney is a fourth-year doctoral student in ELPA whose research explores the role that intimate relationships (e.g., friends, family, romantic partnerships) play in Black women academics’ work/health (im)balance.  

As the eldest daughter of Caribbean immigrants, Brittney’s navigation through academic spaces has been a difficult yet rewarding experience. Relationships have been crucial to fostering success, informing her interest in rejecting exploitative academic norms to uncover success and well-being as simultaneous goals for Black women.

Will French (he/they) 

Will is a third-year Ph.D. student in ELPA with a concentration in K-12 Leadership. His research explores how educational leaders navigate complex policy landscapes and learn how to lead for gender-expansive students and students of color. Formerly a high school counselor in Nashville, TN, Will enjoys biking with friends, going to see theater, and trying different gluten-free treats around Madison.

Devin Henry (he/him/his)

Devin T. Henry is a fourth-year Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis department, with a focus on Higher Education. He also serves as a Research Associate in the Wisconsin Equity & Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) under the guidance of his advisor, Dr. Brian Burt.

Devin has obtained two degrees from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations and a master’s degree in Adult Education. His research currently focuses on the success of Black Male students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through strategies that promote persistence and strengthen institutional retention.