Selena Cartznes is a Research Assistant with WestEd’s Culturally Responsive & Equitable Systems. In her evaluative work, she utilizes culturally responsive practices and methods to foster collaboration and enhance support for the communities and partners she engages with. Selena aims to study implementation and outcomes by actively involving program participants in the evaluation process and providing evidence-based recommendations to improve program effectiveness. She has expertise in rural and community schools; teacher residencies and preparation programs; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in STEM disciplines in K–12 and higher education. Her responsibilities include project management, data collection tool development, qualitative and quantitative data management and analysis, data visualization, reporting, and deliverable dissemination.
As a Black and Latina woman, Cartznes is passionate about DEI work in education because she wishes to see educational systems reflect the racial, cultural, and social diversity of the
communities they serve. She is committed to supporting educational practices that affirm the cultural identities of both educators and students.
In 2019, Cartznes earned her master’s degree in education from the University of California, Los Angeles’s School of Education and Information Studies.