Erin Davenport

A person’s goals often define the path that he or she takes in life. Power of 10 Scholarship recipient Erin Davenport admits that her “goals and aspirations seem to be changing by the minute,” but her passion for education has always been a guiding light.

With a higher education background including Santa Rosa Junior College, Saint Mary’s College, and California State University, East bay, Davenport saw fit to round out her education with a degree from the University of California.

Davenport recently left her position as an education programs consultant for the California Department of Education for a director position at the State California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). “My new position provides the opportunity to utilize my educational leadership skills in conjunction with my passion for high school athletics,” says Davenport.

In her third year of the School of Education’s CANDEL program (an EdD program jointly run by Sonoma State), Davenport researches disproportionality in special education, which is the over- or under-representation of minority students in special education programs. Davenport is particularly interested in examining the relationship among socioeconomic status, levels of school segregation, concentrations of English language learners, and levels of school funding on patterns of disproportionality in California school districts.

“I’m very honored to have been selected. I’ve spent much of my educational career overcoming financial obstacles and thankfully there have been programs and scholarships that have helped me attain my educational goals,” says Davenport.

Inequalities that plague our education system and socioeconomic status dramatically influence opportunities to pursue higher education. “As a result,” says Davenport, “I think any opportunity to provide additional resources to disadvantaged students is a worthwhile endeavor.”