Dr. Mara Nohemi Lopez is the Inaugural HSI Research Center Director at the University of Arizona. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University, an M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University, and an Ed.D. in Leadership and Innovation from Arizona State University. She has contributed to projects funded by the NIH, NSF, DoD, and DoE, with a particular emphasis on strengthening STEM pathways from K–12 through higher education.
For over 19 years, Dr. Lopez has led research initiatives that center students, their lived experiences, their voices, and their aspirations, particularly those whose perspectives have been historically marginalized in higher education. Her scholarship bridges research and practice, advancing equity-centered approaches to data collection, interpretation, and use. A critical component of her work is community-centered engagement through a community of practice framework, bringing together institutions, educators, and practitioners to collectively learn, share, and design strategies that respond to student needs.
At the heart of her work is a belief that when students are truly heard, when their stories are honored as knowledge, and when their brilliance is recognized as essential, we move closer to building educational spaces that not only serve them, but are transformed by them.