Irene Sanchez

Dr. Irene Sanchez is a passionate education leader with over 15 years of experience working with and advocating for underserved student populations. After teaching college level Ethnic Studies/Sociology courses, Dr. Sanchez is the only Ethnic Studies teacher in the Azusa Unified School District, located in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California, teaching Latino Studies for the past 4 years at all three high schools, Azusa, Gladstone, and Sierra High Schools. Previously she worked with college access and educational programs, such as GEAR UP, Migrant Education, and Upward Bound. 

She is an experienced educational consultant working on projects related to secondary Social Studies/Ethnic Studies curriculum as well as higher education research and writing projects. She has previously partnered on education and history related projects with city governments, and nonprofits. She is also a speaker/workshop presenter on topics related to higher education, youth empowerment, U.S. history/Ethnic Studies and has presented/spoken at over 100 colleges/conferences. 

In 2019-2020, she was selected for the National Humanities Center Teacher Advisory Council. She was also selected and participated in professional learning with the KCET Lost LA curriculum project, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and The Huntington Library.  

Dr. Sanchez is an award-winning writer and poet. Her commentary and work has been featured in/by: CNN, Huffington Post, Public Radio International, Inside Higher Education, The Education Trust, Education Week, KPCC 89.3 (NPR Affiliate), Zócalo Public Square, and more. 

She earned two Associates degrees in Social Science and General Science from Riverside City College, a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American/Latino Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington.