The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has appointed Dr. Lorelle Espinosa its new program director, a role in which she will lead the foundation’s grantmaking programs aimed at advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in STEM.
Dr. Lorelle EspinosaEspinosa is currently vice president for research at the American Council on Education, where she builds the organization’s research portfolio, paying special attention to matters related to DEI. There, she also advocates ways to close equity gaps and works to shape national conversations around issues of access to higher education.
“Lorelle Espinosa has an impressive record as a change-maker in education,” said Dr. Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “She is an influential scholar, a passionate advocate for diversity and equity in education, and a gifted collaborator with a proven record of building effective partnerships that result in real change.”
Much of Espinosa’s career has focused on DEI in STEM education with particular emphasis on women of color. In her new role at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, she will oversee an annual grant portfolio of nearly $7 million, which is dedicated to supporting underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines and economics in higher education.
“The Sloan Foundation’s deep connections within the STEM community, its longstanding commitment to equity and inclusion, and its insistence on evidence-based approaches to reform makes it uniquely positioned to have an impact on STEM higher education,” said Espinosa.
Espinosa earned her Ph.D. in higher education and organizational change from the University of California, Los Angeles; her bachelor of arts from the University of California, Davis; and her associate of arts from Santa Barbara City College. She will begin work at the Foundation over the summer.
