Faculty

Joint Doctoral Program, Ph.D. in Education

The faculty at San Diego State and Claremont Graduate University bring diverse research and teaching interests to the study of democratic schooling, social justice and diversity in education. Among the members of the faculty, the student will find rich resources of expertise in such areas as public policy, organizational theory and leadership, curriculum and instruction, language development, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and bilingual and cross-cultural education. With their guidance, students may prepare themselves for qualifying examinations and for dissertation research in a wide range of areas.

Main Office

Melissa A. Navarro Martell

Melissa A. Navarro Martell, Ph.D.

Iterim Director

Dr. Cappello

Marva Cappello, Ph.D.

Director (On Sabbatical)

Ivana Amaya-Guerra, M.A.

Ivana Amaya-Guerra, M.A.

Department Coordinator

San Diego State University

In addition to the director, the following members of the faculty in the SDSU College of Education are available to assist doctoral students with initial advising or with qualifying examinations and preparation of the dissertation.

The following faculty can serve as a dissertation committee chair:

  • Andre Branch
  • Sera Hernandez
  • Vanja Lazarevic
  • Margarita Machado-Casas
  • Gerald Monk
  • Yasemin Qian Turan
  • Marissa Vasquez
  • Meredith Vaughn (Houle)
  • James Wright
  • Christopher Brum
  • Nola Butler-Byrd
  • Marva Cappello
  • Lauren Collins
  • Chuck Degeneffe
  • Eric Felix
  • Nancy Frey
  • Sarah Garrity
  • Tanya Gaxiola Serrano
  • Mari Guillermo
  • Laura Hall
  • Felisha Herrera Villarreal
  • Nick Johnson
  • Bonnie Kraemer
  • Lisa Lamb
  • James Marshall
  • Melissa Navarro
  • Vicki Park
  • Donna Ross
  • Toni Saia
  • Kathleen (Katie) Schenkel
  • Jessica Suhrheinrich
  • Mark Tucker
  • Paul Luelmo
  • Saul Maldonado
  • Nellie Tran
  • Douglas Fisher
  • Frank Harris, III
  • Cristina Alfaro
  • Jose Nuñez Estrada Jr.
  • Cynthia Park

The following faculty can serve as a dissertation committee member only:

  • Vincent Pompei
  • Melina Melgarejo
  • Regina Brandon
  • Juan Camarena
  • Alberto Esquinca
  • Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda
  • Lin Hsien-Chang
  • Paz Jennica
  • Brittany Marshall
  • Patricia Sanchez Lizardi
  • Jennifer Karnopp
  • marcela polanco
  • Devanshi Unadkat
  • Xiwei Zhu
  • Idara Essien-Wood
  • Monica Baldonado

This list is updated annually and includes faculty approved to serve on dissertation committees for the 2025–2026 academic year.

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Marissa Vasquez, Ed.D.

Marissa Vasquez, Ed.D.

Department Chair, Associate Professor & Associate Director, Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL)Department of Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary EducationSDSU[email protected]LH 227

Claremont Graduate University

These members of the faculty in the CGU School of Educational Studies are available to assist doctoral students with initial advising or with qualifying examinations and preparation of the dissertation.

Dr. Carter

Deborah Faye Carter, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Higher Education

Dr. Drew

David Drew, Ph.D.

Professor of Education

Dr. Ganley

DeLacy Ganley, Ph.D.

Dean, School of Educational Studies

Dr. Garrison

Gwen Garrison, Ph.D.

Clinical Professor of Education

Dr. Gipson

Frances Marie Gipson, Ph.D.

Clinical Professor of Education

Dr. Hilton

June K. Hilton, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer

Dr. Luschei

Tom Luschei, Ph.D.

Professor of Education

Dr. Maramba

Dina C. Maramba, Ph.D.

Professor of Education

Dr. Paik

Susan J. Paik, Ph.D.

Professor of Education

Dr. Perkins

Linda Perkins

University Professor

Dr. Reagan

Emilie Reagan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Education

Dr. Saw

Guan K. Saw, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Education