Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza
Ph.D. Candidate—School Organization and Education Policy
Jaime (he/him/él) is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate at UC Davis studying School Organization and Educational Policy. As a first-generation, low-income, bilingual Latino from rural California, Jaime’s journey through the education system inspired his research interests in centering racial equity to analyze college affordability, access, and success for historically excluded populations, with an emphasis on bridging research to actionable policy to drive systemic change.
Before pursuing his Ph.D., Jaime holistically supported marginalized students as an advisor with Upward Bound, the Educational Opportunity Program, and the Destination College Advising Corps. In these roles, he gained deep insight into the academic and non-academic barriers that students face in accessing and completing college. Jaime later applied these insights as a Policy Analyst at The Education Trust, where he centered student experiences to advance racial equity policies and practices in college affordability.
To strengthen his ability to produce impactful, policy-relevant research, Jaime has been augmenting his doctoral training with internships at The Institute for
College Access and Success (TICAS) and The Century Foundation, along with various graduate researcher roles. These experiences are cultivating his qualitative and quantitative analysis skills, enabling him to contextualize trends and illuminate the stories behind the data.
Together, these experiences have shaped Jaime’s dissertation, which investigates how systemic racism can manifest as racialized administrative barriers within the financial aid ecosystem. He also explores the cultural wealth strategies employed by students, particularly Latinx students, to navigate these challenges.
Education
University of California, Davis—School of Education
Ph.D., Education—School Organization & Educational Policy (Expected 2025)
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Ed.M., Higher Education (May 2019)
University of California, Davis
B.A., Chicana/Chicano Studies (Highest Honors, June 2016)
B.S., Managerial Economics (High Honors, June 2016)
Research Interests
College Affordability, College Access & Success, Financial Aid, Racial Equity, Experiences of BIPOC Students, Higher Education Policy, Implementation, & Reform
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Wright-Kim, J., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Salazar, R. (2024, July). Quantity and Quality: Equity Considerations for the Funding of Categorical Programs in Community Colleges. The Journal of Higher Education.
Book Chapters
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Jones, T. (2021, November). Beyond the Slogan: The Need for Equity-Driven Free College Programs. Equity, Freedom, and Inclusion in Higher Education, Harvard Education Press.
Policy Reports
Nguyen, C. K., Nuñez-Martinez, M., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Bruecker, E., Anthony Jr., M. (2024, April). Race and Economic Mobility (REM): College Value at Asian American and Native American Pacific IslanderServing Institutions. The Institute of College Access & Success (TICAS).
Nguyen, C. K., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Nuñez-Martinez, M., Bruecker, E., Anthony Jr., M. (2024, March). Race and Economic Mobility (REM): College Value at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The Institute of College Access & Success (TICAS).
Nguyen, C. K., Anthony Jr., M., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Nuñez-Martinez, M., Bruecker, E. (2024, February). Race and Economic Mobility (REM): College Value at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Institute of College Access & Success (TICAS).
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Jones, T. (2020, December). Using Professional Judgment in Financial Aid to Advance Racial Justice & Equity. The Education Trust.
Jones, T., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Jackson, V. (2020, October). A Promise Worth Keeping: An Updated Equity-Driven Framework for Free College Programs. The Education Trust.
Magazine Articles
Jones, T., Jackson, V., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2020, June). Borrowing While Black: Understanding What Makes Student Debt a Crisis for Black Students. Association for American Colleges & Universities (AACU)—Liberal Education.
Op-Eds
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2023, November). How Colleges Can Better Support Undocumented Students in the Aftermath of the Affirmative Action Ban. The Education Trust—Higher Ed Equity Lens.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Jones, T. (2021, January). The Pros and Cons of Professional Judgment. Inside Higher Ed.
Jones, T., Jackson, V., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2020, July). Care About the Lives of Black Students? Then It’s Time to Fix the Black Student Debt Crisis! Association for American Colleges & Universities (AACU).
Working Papers
Baker, D. J., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Shook, L. M., Bennet, C. T. (2023, September) (Pay)Walled Gardens: Status and Racialized Discourse Among Authors of Student Loan News Articles (EdWorkingPaper:23-856). Annenberg Institute at Brown University
Baker, D. J., Shook, L. M., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Bennett, C. T. (2023, May). Race below the fold: Race-evasiveness in the news media’s coverage of student loans (EdWorkingPaper: 23-771). Annenberg Institute at Brown University.
Presentations
Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2024, November). Resisting Racialized Barriers: Financial Aid Experiences of First-Generation, Low-Income Latinx Students. Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Conference.
Friedmann, E., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Kurlaender, M. (2024, September). Navigating the Financial Aid Process: Insights from Students and Institutions. The Education Trust-West Education Equity Forum.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2024, March). California High School Seniors: Identifying Supports to Complete Financial Aid Applications & Plans to Pay for College. Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) Conference.
Wright-Kim, J., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Salazar, R. (2023, November). Quantity and Quality: Equity Considerations for the Funding of Categorical Programs in Community College. Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Conference.
Bruecker, E., Villaroel, C., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2022, April). Financial Aid Appeals and Racial Equity in Professional Judgments. Virtual Presentation at the National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA).
Elliot, K.C., Jackson, V., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2021, November) Jim Crow Debt: How Black Borrowers Experience Student Debt. Virtual Presentation at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).
Panichet-Paul, C., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2021, April) A Necessary Tool: Utilizing the Higher Ed Immigration Portal to Improve Educational Equity for Undocumented and Other Immigrant Students. Virtual Presentation for The Education Trust Virtual Bootcamp for State Partners.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. Taylor, S. (2021, March). Free College for Whom? Equity Analysis of Free College Programs. Virtual presentation at the Harvard Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) Expo.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Taylor, S. (2020, November). Updated Equity-Focused Free College Framework. Virtual presentation at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) conference.
Del Pilar, W., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2020, March). Broken Mirrors II: Representation of Latino Undergraduates at Public Universities. Presentation at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHE).
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Martinez, K., Enriquez, T. (2018, July). Growing Yet Unseen: Advising Latinx Students to and Through College. Presentation at the Latino/a Studies Association Conference.
Invited Presentations
Baker, D. J., Shook, L. M., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Bennet, C. T. (2023, November). Presentation on two papers examining the media and student loan policies. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Debt Frames Convening.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2023, September). Financial (Un)Certainties: California High School Seniors in Spring of 2023. Presentation at UC Davis Center for Poverty & Inequality Research Retreat.
Alvarez, C. H., Estrada, E., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2022, April) Explaining Your Graduate Work to Your Familia and Loved Ones. Virtual Presentation at the UC Davis First Generation Grad/Postdoc Community Symposium.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Williams, B. (2021, November) Centering Equity in Financial Aid. Virtual Presentation at the Ohio Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA) Regional Directors Conference.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Williams, B. (2021, August). Centering Equity in Financial Aid Advising. Virtual Presentation at the Bloomberg CollegePoint Kickoff Convening for College Advisors.
Jones, T., Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2020, November) A Promise Worth Keeping: An Updated Equity-Driven Framework for Free College Programs. Virtual Presentation for the Tennessee Higher Education Policy Council.
Jones, T., Ramirez-Mendoza, J., Jackson, V. (2020, July). Borrowing While Black: Understanding What Makes Student Debt a Crisis for Black Students. Virtual Presentation for the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2019, April). I Go to School in Boston. Selected speaker at the Harvard Graduate School of Education—EdTalks, Cambridge, MA.
Ramirez-Mendoza, J. (2016, September). From Surviving to Thriving. Keynote speaker at the UC Davis Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Fall Welcome, Davis, CA
Fellowships and Awards
UC Davis Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, 2021-2026
Gardner Fellow on Higher Education—UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education, 2024-25
Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Equity & Inclusion Fellow, 2023-24
UC Davis Graduate Group in Education—Graduate Program Research Fellowship, 2024
Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) Researchers of Color Travel Award, 2022
Just Education Policy (JEP) Summer Program Participant, 2022
UC Davis Graduate Student of Color Summer Research Award, 2022
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award, 2021
Dell Scholar, 2011–2019
Gates Millennium Scholar, 2011-Present
Certifications
NVivo Coding Core Skills
Lumiverno, July 2024
- Training on how to: import various types of documents into NVivo; use the transcription tool; create and organize codes; add classifications with attributes; craft memos and link them to file(s); illustrate word frequencies and codes via visualizations such as mind maps, comparison diagrams and chart coding.
Federal Student Loan Debt & Repayment Bootcamp
Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI), January 2022
- Training on foundational knowledge of student loan borrowing patterns; federal student loan repayment plans; student loan delinquency and default; family wealth and how it intersects with demographics; the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program; and the federal student loan program’s cost.
Need Analysis Bootcamp
Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI), February 2021
- Gained foundational knowledge on federal need analysis and understanding of: cost of attendance and its relationships to federal student aid; federal methodology for need analysis; the verification process for federal student aid; what professional judgment is and how it is applied; and how financial aid is packaged and students are notified of their financial aid.
Skills
Language proficiency: English (Native Speaker); Spanish (Native Speaker)
Software & Analytical Tools: Microsoft Office, Google Office, STATA, Qualtrics, & NVivo
