Adrian Trinidad

Adrián Trinidad is a Dean’s Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in the Urban Education Policy program at the Rossier School of Education and research analyst at the USC Center for Urban Education. He has studied transfer pathways for racially minoritized community college students, policy implementation of equity policies, and organizational change in higher education. He uses critical and organizational theories to understand how practitioners interpret and implement equity initiatives. As part of the research team with Dr. Estela M. Bensimon at CUE, Adrián helps lead largescale institutes, campus workshops, and long-term partnerships with campuses to facilitate conversations about race in higher education and create change in policy and practices. The topics of these efforts have ranged from achieving equity in faculty hiring and equity-minded teaching, to implementing state policy in race-conscious ways. Prior to USC, he transferred from Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. Having attended a community college, Adrián is interested in understanding how practitioners can help students break the policy and structural barriers for transfer to a 4-year university. Adrián holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in public policy, both from USC.