Diana D. Lopez

Diana D. Lopez is a Policy Research Fellow from Salinas, CA with a background in college access, student affairs, and university administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from Stanford University. Diana is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Higher Education & Organizational Change program at UCLA where she is also a Research Analyst at the Higher Education Research Institute.

Throughout the years, Diana has gravitated toward efforts to improve equitable access to quality higher education in California. During her undergraduate years, she worked and volunteered for various college access and retention programs. Her time at UC Santa Cruz sparked interests that continue to this day, including quantitative research methods and a desire to understand how educational systems work to facilitate or inhibit equitable college access.

During her time in graduate school, Diana has further developed her research skills and a deep-rooted commitment to issues of access to higher education for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. Her research interests include broad-access institutions of higher education and the social and geographic contexts of college students. She looks forward to conducting research to inform policy during her time as a fellow for the Campaign for College Opportunity.

What do you do at the campaign? Clean & analyze data, prepare research briefs, and translate research to be more accessible for non-academic audiences.

What else gets you up in the morning? Doctoral research.

What do you do in your down time? I enjoy spending time with loved ones, exploring Los Angeles cuisine (restaurants, food trucks, etc.), and refining recipes of my own.

Fun fact: I am hoping to perfect my pumpkin muffin recipe this fall.