LINCOLN, NE, July 10, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Lisette Torres-Gerald, PhD, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Dr. Torres-Gerald is a distinguished figure in the realm of STEM education and activism, particularly at the intersection of disability and race. As a senior researcher at TERC since 2023, she has been instrumental in advancing research that addresses critical issues such as the influence of power and privilege throughout the scientific community and the experiences faced by women of color. Her role as a co-principal investigator on a $10 million National Science Foundation collaborative agreement stands as a testament to her expertise and dedication, marking the highest funding ever awarded to an early-to-mid-career researcher at the organization.

In addition to her position at TERC, Dr. Torres-Gerald recently became the program manager for the Inviting New Voices into Evaluation (INVitE-Pub) initiative, a two-year pilot project led by the New Directions for Evaluation (NDE) journal of the American Evaluation Association and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Moreover, she has served as the director of operations and communication for the Realizing Excellence and Vitality in Informal STEM Education (REVISE) Center since 2022. Her academic journey also includes a tenure as a visiting assistant professor at Salem State University from 2021 to 2023, where she imparted her knowledge and passion for inclusive education.

Dr. Torres-Gerald's storied career includes significant roles as a temporary lecturer in the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln—where she taught a student development course in higher education for graduate students—and as a senior research associate and project coordinator at TERC from 2020 to 2023. Her leadership skills were honed during her eight-year tenure at Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she was the director of the Cooper Foundation for Academic Resources from 2018 to 2020 and assistant director from 2015 to 2018. As an adjunct biology instructor at the school from 2012 to 2020, she taught zoology lab sections and mentored and advised students of color who were interested in learning about and majoring in STEM through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program.

Before venturing onto her vocational path, Dr. Torres-Gerald earned a Bachelor of Arts in earth and environmental science and religion studies from Lehigh University in 2003 and a Master of Science in zoology with a certificate in ecology from Miami University in Ohio—with aquatic ecology as her research specialty—in 2005. Her scholarly achievements at Lehigh University were recognized when she was named as a Roy Eckardt College Scholar and received the Roy Eckardt College Scholar Thesis Research Award. She further expanded her education in 2019, obtaining a doctorate in higher education with a certificate in social justice from Iowa State University. Her dedication to advancing critical thinking was on full display as she also founded and established Iowa State's Journal of Critical Thought & Praxis (JCTP).

Dr. Torres-Gerald's professional affiliations include membership in the American Educational Research Association since 2012 and the Critical Race Studies in Education Association since 2010. She was also co-founder and former executive board member of the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities (CNLD) from 2016 to 2021 and served as the people of color (POC) caucus leader for Science for the People from 2015 to 2020. She also co-founded Sines of Disability, a website and community dedicated to addressing ableism in mathematics. Additionally, she is a member of the AAAS multi-disciplinary working group on disability inclusion and anti-ableism in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). Her passion for social justice and equity extends beyond academia; she is an active contributor to SisterMentors and served as an accessibility editor for Science for the People Magazine.

Happily married and a proud mother of one son and one daughter, Dr. Torres-Gerald enjoys reading and cherishes time spent with her family. Her multifaceted career reflects both her academic prowess and her unwavering commitment to fostering equity and inclusion within educational spaces. Looking to the future with determination, she aspires to advance her research agenda on the educational experiences of disabled students of color, secure grant funding for additional projects and establish a new arts-informed methodology for the benefit of future generations. Her vast accomplishments and future goals alike continue to cement her legacy of advancing research and equity throughout the realm of education.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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