P-12, Higher Ed

• Early childhood and preschool
• English language learners
• Hispanic students
• Language acquisition
• Race and diversity
• State policy

Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, a senior policy analyst for the Latino Policy Forum, works to advance policy supports and systemic change to meet the needs of the Illinois’ diverse language learners. She recently authored a brief series on how Illinois might prepare all teachers to educate English-language learners along with ways to make teacher licensure exams more responsive to language and cultural diversity. Vonderlack-Navarro also provides workshops for immigrant parent workshops and is a state-appointed member of the Illinois Advisory Council on Bilingual Education. Before earning her doctorate, Vonderlack-Navarro was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to support qualitative research exploring the economic and political impact of a microcredit program on its participants at a community development agency located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Vonderlack-Navarro has a doctorate from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Her dissertation was published as part of a book series, “The New Americans: Recent Immigration and American Society.”