Stanford University
Showing 1-7 of 7 Results
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Brenda Valdes
Ph.D. Student in Education, admitted Autumn 2024
Research Assistant, Padilla ProgramCurrent Research and Scholarly InterestsBrenda is a developmental Psychologist specializing in longitudinal quantitative methods to study variation in learning and language development. Her research examines how individual and contextual factors shape students’ developmental trajectories across time, with an emphasis on patterns in academic growth.
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Guadalupe Valdés
Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor of Education, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsValdés is the Founder and Executive Director of "English Together" a 501(c)(3) organization. The organization creates rich connections between ordinary speakers of English and low-wage, immigrant workers by preparing volunteers to provide one-on-one “coaching” in workplace English.
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Maria Del Socorro Velazquez
Social Science Research Scholar
BioMaria is Stanford Provostial Fellow/Academic Staff Researcher in the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Her research examines housing, educational opportunity, educational policy, and place. She draws on qualitative methods and uses an interdisciplinary framework to draw attention to the socially constructed nature of inequities in schools and school communities. Relatedly, her work considers the efforts parents, educators, and community members take to contest and disrupt inequities in schools and school communities towards creating transformative opportunities for youth.
Maria’s collaborative research and publications contribute to scholars’ and educational leaders’ understanding of the housing-school nexus, school-prison nexus, and school organizational policies and practices that contribute to categorical inequalities. Maria holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. -
Daniel Verdi
Ph.D. Student in Education, admitted Autumn 2025
Research Assistant, Environmental Social SciencesBioComputational Social Science • Social Computing • Science of Science • Natural Language Processing • Responsible AI
I apply data science methods, mainly natural language processing (NLP) and social network analysis, to evaluate the communication and governance of science and technology. A focus of my work is how academic knowledge is translated across audiences, amplified or distorted through digital media, and taken up in political debate.
My research is particularly concerned with how algorithmic systems like AI and social media are changing information ecosystems and how their own risks and benefits are transmitted to the public. At the core of my work is a commitment to questions of equity, ethics, and social justice.
Beyond conducting science, I am also passionate about designing tools and events to put it in conversation with communities and create opportunities for marginalized students to engage with research and technology. I’m especially interested in improving digital and AI literacies, as well as in using AI and other technologies in informal education.
Before Stanford, I graduated from the University of Richmond as a Richmond Scholar, the institution's most prestigious and competitive academic award. Additionally, I have conducted research at universities such as Carnegie Mellon, University of Southern Califronia, and University of Copenhagen, and interned at Amazon Alexa AI. I’m also proud to have co-founded one of Brazil's largest high school science fairs, the Brazilian Fair of Young Scientists (FBJC), which has engaged over 2,000 participants and received over 1M website visits.
