Dr. Sandra M. Gonzales is an Associate Professor of Bilingual/Bicultural Education in the Division of Teacher Education at Wayne State University (WSU). She received her doctorate in International Educational Development from Columbia University, Teachers College. Her research interests include: Latinx identity and belonging; K12 school reform efforts; culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning practices; and the revitalization of elder and abuelita epistemologies, such as testimonio, stories and storytelling, centering on Detroit’s Xicanx, Mexican and Indigenous Mexican community.
In addition to her scholarship, Dr. Gonzales is also active in the community. She established the College of Education (COE) Upward Bound Program, a federally funded college preparatory program for two Southwest Detroit high schools. Dr. Gonzales also helped to establish a learning community for Native American student success at Wayne State University. She was also a Co-PI on a U.S. Department of Defense grant which aimed to increase STEM programming and research opportunities for underrepresented high school students. Most recently, Dr. Gonzales was awarded a Collaborative Online International Learning Faculty Fellowship in partnership with SUNY New York and the University of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, where she and a colleague are working to establish a “Multicultural Learning Hub” for teachers and students from emergent bilingual communities.
Dr. Gonzales has received the highest of honors for her teaching and leadership. In 2021, she was awarded the WSU President’s Award for Teaching Excellence; and, in 2022, Dr. Gonzales was honored with two awards: the prestigious Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award, and the Maná “Adelita” award for her perseverance in support of Detroit’s Latino community. Dr. Gonzales also has two “Trailblazer” awards named in her honor; one that is gifted each year on César Chávez Day at Eastern Michigan University, to honor the work of “Trailblazers” in the Latinx community; and, the other is gifted to COE Upward Bound High School seniors who are “Trailblazers” at school.