​Alumna Feliza Ortiz-Licon Honored at 46th Annual Lauds & Laurels

SoE Alumna Dr. Feliza Ortiz-Licon has been honored at UCI's 46th Annual Lauds & Laurels Celebration as the 2016 School of Education Distinguished Alumna. 

Lauds & Laurels is the university's oldest awards ceremony, a tradition that has recognized more than 750 members of the UCI community for their service to the university, the community, or their profession.

Dr. Ortiz-Licon is the senior director of K-16 education programs for National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Her background includes serving as director of policy for David Tokofsky, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education member, and as a teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District. Prior to serving in her current role as senior director of K-16 programs for La Raza, she was NCLR's regional director of education for California and the Far West.

Dr. Ortiz-Licon earned her Ed.D. in Educational Administration, specialized in Urban Educational Leadership, from UCI in 2008.

From the Lauds & Laurels Program:

• Dr. Ortiz-Licon has invested more than 20 years in the field of education, working in various capacities including teaching, research, school operations, educational policy, college access, and strategic planning. In her diverse work within the field of education, she has focused predominantly on access and equity issues, specifically as they relate to Latino students.
• In her current role as senior director of K-16 education programs for National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Dr. Ortiz-Licon collaborates with a national group of charter schools to improve the quality of instruction and curriculum delivered to Latino students while reinforcing the cultural and linguistic assets brought forth by this student population. To accomplish the greater goal of replicating practices and scaling reformative efforts, she has helped develop NCLR's school framework, which defines eight core qualities of high performing, Latino-serving schools.
• As a first generation college student, Dr. Ortiz-Licon understands the critical need to improve education in communities institutionally neglected in terms of resources and pedagogy. She shares with UCI the recognition that, for many low-income, first generation Latinos, education is the principal vehicle for upward social and financial mobility.