About Dr. Gina Ann Garcia

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Gina Ann Garcia is a professor in the Berkeley School of Education (BSE) who conducts asset-based research about Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). She is a public scholar committed to disrupting the status quo of postsecondary education, studies organizational change in the context of HSIs, and advocates for new HSI futures. Grounded in theories of change, she provides practical solutions for serving Latine/x students in HSIs and other colleges and universities that enroll compositionally diverse students. She motivates people to think critically about the role and function of colleges and universities, and calls on faculty, staff, and administrators to assess their institutional practices for serving Latine/x and other racially and economically minoritized students.

Dr. Garcia is the author of four books, including the best-selling Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges & Universities. She is also the host of the popular podcast ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? where she translates research to practice and directs the Higher Education Action Research for Transformation (HEART) Lab, which conducts action-based research about HSIs. Dr. Garcia currently serves as UC Berkeley’s inaugural Faculty Director of Latinx Thriving Initiatives (LTI) within the Division of Equity & Inclusion. In this role she provides visionary leadership to advance UC Berkeley’s commitment to transforming into a Latinx thriving university. She is the PI for a grant about essential needs for Latine/x students in an emerging HSI, funded by a competitive grant from the Center for Economic Justice and Action, and is also a Presidential Chairs Fellows within the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) where she is conducting a two-year research project about the ways students develop liberatory outcomes within the classroom.

Dr. Garcia is a longtime supporter of AHSIE, delivering invited talks and keynote addresses at the conference since 2016 and sponsoring the conference through Ginasol Inc.