Emely Medina-Rodriguez is experienced in evaluation, policy, and leadership in grades K–12 and higher education. In Chicago, Medina-Rodriguez worked with Black and Latinx/e communities to generate culturally responsive evaluations on health and education, and in her work in Puerto Rico and Chicago, she developed a participatory practice based on Paulo Freire’s democratic dialogue. She has applied her qualitative and quantitative skills in different settings, including schools, districts, universities, nonprofits, community organizations, and foundations.
Medina-Rodriguez oversees culturally responsive approaches in evaluation, instrument development, and data collection for EDC’s La Fuerza-STEM project, which aims to build informal science learning among Latinx/e families. She also contributes to the evaluation of child-care policy in Rhode Island’s Department of Human Services.
Before joining EDC, Medina-Rodriguez conducted post-doctoral research and evaluation in educational justice and completed evaluation internships at the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation and the Chicago Latin School High Jump program.
Medina-Rodriguez holds an MA in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago.