The Team
Who Are We?
Edwin Mayorga
(he/him)
Director and Co-Researcher
Edwin Mayorga, Ph.D. (he/him/his) is a parent-educator-activist-scholar, who is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Studies, and an affiliate of the Latin American/Latino Studies Program, at Swarthmore College. Edwin studies and writes about a number of things related to education, including racial-cultural inequality and urban school and neighborhood development, and racial/ethnic studies. He’s is the director and co-researcher of three major projects: the #BarrioEdProject, a youth participatory action research (PAR) collaborative and sanctuary-focused after school club; the Cultivating Community Together (CCT) study which is an examination of community+school partnerships in the Philadelphia; and the #EthnicStudiesPHL education network and curricular project, which documents and examines historical and contemporary approaches to racial and ethnic studies pedagogies in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. While committed to research, teaching and activism, Edwin strives to prioritize his family, and as a result is often found at local parks with his spouse, Jen, and their sons Teo and Julian (Juju).
Eliza Murphy
(she/her)
Graduate-Level Co-Researcher
Eliza Murphy (she/her/hers) graduated from Swarthmore College in 2023, majoring in Educational Studies and Economics. She is now completing her Primary Teaching Certification and will be student teaching in the Two-Way Immersion Program at Southwark Elementary School in South Philly, where she grew up. Eliza learned to speak Spanish at Independence Charter School and has continued studying the language through college. She has been working on the Cultivating Community Together Study since 2021 and is excited to continue learning about families' and community members' experiences with community schools in Philadelphia.
Erika Davis
(she/her)
Post-doctoral Co-Researcher
Erika Davis, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary educator, researcher, and community advocate from the Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton) region of eastern Pennsylvania. Erika completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2023 with a specialization in Critical Studies in Race, Ethnicity, and Culture at the University of Florida. Her dissertation examined educational advocacy efforts amid gentrification and neoliberal, tax-incentivized development in the majority-Latinx city of Allentown, PA. Through a research fellowship with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, CUNY (Centro), Erika developed an interactive StoryMap on the history of Puerto Ricans in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA. Currently, Erika is contributing to the Cultivating Community Together (CCT) study and looks forward to learning more about community partnerships and experiences in the context of Philadelphia.
Josué Ochoa
(he/him)
Undergraduate Co-Researcher
Josué Ochoa (he/him/his) is a senior at Swarthmore College where he is finishing his bachelor's degree in Educational Studies and Political Science. Under the wing of Dr. Edwin Mayorga, Josué continues to look at educational policy at the local level, which can be seen through his assistance in the study, Cultivating Community Together (CCT). Josué was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, which is a critical aspect of his desire to work in the local education system. His Mexican/Chicanx heritage plays a major role in his efforts to strengthen his community in Tucson and at large.
Heidi Berger
(she/her)
Project Co-coordinator & Undergraduate
Co-Researcher
Heidi Berger (she/her/hers) is a junior at Swarthmore College where she studies Sociology, Educational Studies, and Spanish. She is interested in going into academia as a professor involved in participatory action research on topics such as abolitionist teaching, bilingual school programs, and youth activism. Currently, Heidi is gaining experience in those areas as a research assistant on Dr. Edwin Mayorga’s Cultivating Community Together (CCT) study, which examines community and school partnerships in Philadelphia. When not busy with research or school, Heidi, who is originally from Vermont, enjoys spending her time outdoors – whether that’s walking in the woods or laying on the beach with a book.