Student Voices Matter: A Roundtable Discussion With Pregnant and Parenting Students

Student Voices Matter: A Roundtable Discussion with Pregnant and Parenting Students Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PST Register for the event

Nearly 4 million student parents across the country courageously work to attain their postsecondary degrees; in fact, 20% of all undergraduate students in California are parents. Often overlooked, pregnant and parenting students must overcome time poverty; a lack of affordable childcare and family-friendly housing’ limited course availability; and many other challenges, including feeling isolated, disconnected, and unwelcome by their college campuses–all while providing for their families and completing their studies. In spite of these obstacles, student parents consistently achieve higher grade point averages than non-parenting students.

Join the Michelson 20MM Foundation on June 23rd for a student-centered discussion that aims to uplift the unique experiences and challenges faced by student parents. 

Opening Remarks by ALYA MICHELSON
Co-chair, Michelson Philanthropies

Alya Michelson

Alya Michelson is an artist, philanthropist, and journalist who is passionate about uplifting women’s and immigrant stories. An immigrant herself from Russia, Alya led an awarded career in journalism before moving to the United States and launching a career as an artist working in multiple genres. Today, she serves as co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies and is developing a new project that celebrates global citizenship by highlighting how the immigrant experience strengthens the American story.

With a presentation from THERESA ANDERSON, PhD
Senior Researcher, Urban Institute

Dr. Theresa Anderson

Dr. Theresa Anderson is a senior researcher at the Urban Institute. She is interested in improving access to and success in education throughout the life course, from early childhood to adulthood. Her work has focused on parenting students, low-income families, opportunity youth, community college students, adult education students, high school students from historically underserved populations, and public housing residents. She is passionate about using research to inform action that helps adults, children, and families meet their education and life goals.

Moderated by: AMBER ANGEL
Program Officer, Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Foundation

Panelists include:

SADE JOHNSON
Graduate Assistant, California State University (CSU), Fresno, Project Hope

BIANCA ESTRADA
Masters of Social Work Intern, CSU Monterey Bay Basic Needs Initiative

JASMIN OTHMAN
Career Advisor and Academic Coach, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) Mustang Success Center

STEPHANIE VALDEZ
Student Parent, CSU Monterey Bay

MAYA SIMONE VALREE
Student Parent, Cal Poly 

PRISCILLA AMAO
Student Parent, CSU Monterey Bay

SULEYMA MARTINEZ
Student Parent, CSU Long Beach

ALFONSO MORELOS
Student Parent, CSU Monterey Bay

EMILY ELIZABETH
Student Parent, CSU Monterey Bay

TARAH DANIELS
Student Parent, CSU Long Beach

Register for the event

Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation seeking to accelerate progress towards a more just world through grantmaking, operating programs, and impact investing. Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.

The Road to Academic Success: Best Practices to Support Pregnant and Parenting Students

The Road to Academic Success: Best Practices to Support Pregnant and Parenting Students
Wednesday, April 21, 2022 | 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PST
Register for the event

Taking steps to improve college success for pregnant and parenting students has important implications for racial, ethnic, and economic equity in higher education. Among students of color, one in three black students, one in three Native American students, and one in five Latinx students are parents. Single mothers in California who hold an A.A. degree are 39% less likely to live in poverty than a mother with a high school diploma, while single mothers in California with a B.A. degree are 61% less likely to live in poverty than a high school graduate. Schools throughout the state are pivoting to support this often unseen student population by improving data collection, offering family friendly study spaces, and providing diaper banks.

Join the Michelson 20MM Foundation on April 21st as we uplift the promising practices that have emerged throughout California in support of pregnant and parenting students. 

Opening Remarks by ALYA MICHELSON
Co-chair, Michelson Philanthropies

Alya Michelson

Alya Michelson is an artist, philanthropist, and journalist who is passionate about uplifting women’s and immigrant stories. An immigrant herself from Russia, Alya led an awarded career in journalism before moving to the United States and launching a career as an artist working in multiple genres. Today, she serves as co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies and is developing a new project that celebrates global citizenship by highlighting how the immigrant experience strengthens the American story.

Speakers include:

HALEY MYERS DILLON, MPPA
Director, Parents and Families Program, Sacramento State

HALEY MYERS DILLON, MPPA

Haley Myers Dillon is the Director of Sacramento State’s Parents and Families Program, which serves pregnant and parenting students as well as families of enrolled students. Haley wrote and administers Sacramento State’s CCAMPIS grant, which is a flexible, voucher-based program that has changed multiple times in four years. She founded the California State University Parent and Family Program Consortium, Sacramento State’s Student-Parent Supports Program, the Pregnant Student Services Program, and will convene the first CSU Student-Parent Summit in March 2022. Haley is also a student-parent, working toward an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a research focus on student-parents. She earned a master’s degree from Sacramento State in Public Policy and Administration and a bachelor’s degree in English from California Polytechnic State University.

DR. AUTUMN GREEN
Director, Higher Education Access for Parenting Students Research Initiative, Wellesley Center for Women

DR. AUTUMN GREEN

Autumn Rose Green, M.Ed., Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at Wellesley Centers for Women, where she directs the Higher Education Access for Parenting Students Research Initiative. In fall 2021, she also became a Non-Resident Fellow at the Urban Institute, where she works with the Income and Benefits Policy Center and the Building America’s Workforce Initiative. Dr. Green’s research, advocacy, campus program development, and other change-making work has made transformational contributions to the fields of higher education and two-generation postsecondary and occupational mobility pathways from poverty for low-income families. Her forthcoming book, Surviving, Striving and Thriving: Low-Income Mothers in Higher Education documents the experiences of low-income mothers pursuing higher education in ten states, situating their experiences within the systems and policy contexts that they must navigate to succeed in college.

SADE JOHNSON (Moderator)
Graduate Assistant, Project Hope, California State University, Fresno

SADE JOHNSON

Sade was born and raised by her parents in Madera, California. She has 10 siblings and countless nieces and nephews. Sade is a wife and mother of two children, who received her B.A. in African American Studies from the University of California, Davis. She currently works as a Graduate Assistant for Project HOPE, which is a case management service that addresses the basic needs of Fresno State’s student population. Currently in the first year of her graduate program, Higher Education Administration and Leadership, at California State University, Fresno, Sade aspires to continue working in higher education with student-parents, Black students, students of color, first-generation students, system-impacted students, and low-income students. Sade has a strong belief that everyone is entitled to an education—it should not matter if they are raising kids at the same time, their needs should still be met.

DR. LARISSA MERCADO-LOPEZ
Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, California State University, Fresno

DR. LARISSA MERCADO-LOPEZ

Dr. Larissa Mercado-Lopez is a Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at California State University, Fresno, where she leads efforts in support of both student and faculty success, particularly for student parents, faculty parents, and women of color faculty. An interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Mercado-Lopez theorizes Chicana motherhood across literary studies, Chicana feminism, and higher education to explore the disruptive potential of women of color epistemologies. In the classroom, she teaches courses on women of color feminisms and Latinx Health. Currently, she serves as Conference Director for the annual California State University Student Success Network Conference. Dr. Mercado-Lopez’s work is informed by her experience as a student parent and as an academic mother of four children.

DR. ROUDI ROY
Associate Professor of Child Development and Family Studies, California State University, Long Beach

DR. ROUDI ROY

Dr. Roudi Nazarinia Roy is an Associate Professor of Child Development and Family Studies in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at California State University, Long Beach. She has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Family Sciences from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Roy received her Ph.D. in Family Studies from Kansas State University. Her research interests revolve around cultural influences on parental roles across the transition to parenthood and during early childhood, fatherhood engagement, student-parents, and Multiracial families. In addition to her publications in peer-reviewed journals, she has co-authored a book on the transition to parenthood, and most recently co-edited a book on biracial families. She serves on several editorial boards for journals focused on family scholarship and is a member of the National Council on Family Relations Board of Directors. Dr. Roy is a certified family life educator through the National Council on Family Relations and serves as a consultant and evaluator for community agencies serving diverse populations of families.

Register for the event

Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation seeking to accelerate progress towards a more just world through grantmaking, operating programs, and impact investing. Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.

Pregnant and Parenting Students in California: A Look at the CSU System

Despite having a higher GPA on average than their peers, 52 percent of student-parents leave college within six years without completing their degree. More often than not, pregnant and parenting students don’t see their needs and circumstances reflected in course policies and accommodations. What are the biggest challenges faced by this student population? Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring pregnant and parenting student success, and how is the California State University System doing in supporting them?

Join the Michelson 20MM Foundation, Ascend at the Aspen Institute, Blue Shield of California Foundation, California Competes, The Education Trust—West, and Tipping Point Community as we explore the current state of pregnant and parenting students in California and identify pathways that can help them succeed.

Opening Remarks by Alya Michelson
Co-chair, Michelson Philanthropies

Alya Michelson is an artist, philanthropist, and journalist who is passionate about uplifting women’s and immigrant stories. An immigrant herself from Russia, Alya led an awarded career in journalism before moving to the United States and launching a career as an artist working in multiple genres. Today, she serves as co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies and is developing a new project that celebrates global citizenship by highlighting how the immigrant experience strengthens the American story.

Dr. Tina Cheuk
Assistant Professor, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Tina Cheuk

Tina Cheuk is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She is a mother, scholar, educator, and advocate focused on empowering and imagining futures that sustain and cultivate the learning, growth, and success of minoritized groups in postsecondary education. For much of her career, she has focused most intently on issues that include the development of culturally and linguistically diverse learners in STEM settings, the struggles, assets and possibilities of teachers of Color across the pipeline, and student activism work that transforms institutions toward more equitable and just learning spaces. Her advocacy work considers how policy and resources—or their lack thereof—contribute to the alienation and erasure of student parents in higher educational spaces. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Education Policy from Stanford University.

Pamela Lewis, M.S.
Senior Director of Multicultural Affairs & Inclusion, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB)

Pamela Lewis

Pamela Lewis serves as the Senior Director of Multicultural Affairs and Inclusion, inclusive of the CSULB Village program, the Dream Success Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Women’s and Gender Equity Center departments at CSULB. Her higher education experience has been extensive at the Beach. She has served in leadership roles with Associated Students, Inc., Housing and Residential Life, and University Access and Retention. Her professional compass includes outreach and recruitment, student life, student government, residential life, student conduct, Title IX, multicultural affairs, access, retention, diversity, equity, inclusion, and student success initiatives. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies and Master of Science in Counseling, Student Development in Higher Education from CSULB. Pamela is currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership. Throughout her career, Pamela has been an advocate for the underrepresented voices and a change agent for the betterment of all. Her favorite quote is, “You are not a leader until you have produced another leader who can produce another leader” ~author unknown.

Dr. Larissa Mercado-Lopez
Professor, California State University, Fresno

Larissa Mercado

Larissa M. Mercado-Lopez, Ph.D., is a former student parent and currently Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at CSU Fresno, where she teaches courses on women of color feminisms, Chicana feminism, and Latinx Health. Dr. Mercado-Lopez has published public scholarship and authored and edited books on Latinx literature, Chicanx children’s literature, and higher education. Additionally, she serves as Book Review Editor for Chicana/Latina Studies Journal. At Fresno State, she actively engages in student and faculty success work, particularly for student parents and women of color faculty. At the system level, Dr. Mercado-Lopez is Director of the statewide CSU Student Success Network Conference.

Jasmin Othman
Masters Candidate, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)

Jasmin Othman is a parent and a mother to a funny and empathetic autistic eight-year-old. Beyond the joy he has brought to her life, he has also increased her awareness of neurodiversity, which has tremendously expanded.

As a student-parent at California Polytechnic State University, Jasmin has obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Under the supervision of Dr. Tina Cheuk, she collected and analyzed data to understand ways institutions of higher education can create more equitable practices for student-parents. Currently, Jasmin is a Master’s Candidate studying Educational Leadership and Administration. As an academic coach at Cal Poly’s Mustang Success Center, she mentors student-athletes and is a career advisor at Cal Poly’s Career Services. She is passionate about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all domains.

Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation seeking to accelerate progress towards a more just world through grantmaking, operating programs, and impact investing. Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.