Elianny Edwards Receives UCLA Academic Senate Graduate Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award

Elianny Edwards, a 2022 doctoral program graduate of the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, has been named the recipient of the UCLA Academic Senate Graduate Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.

The award is given by the UCLA  Academic Senate on an annual basis to honor a graduate student who has embraced diversity, demonstrated a commitment to serving humanity through learning,  and has motivated other members  of  the University to strive for excellence, among other criteria.  Recipients of the honor receive an award of $2,000.

Edwards received a doctoral degree from the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies in June 2022. Her research interests include defining and promoting school safety to create safe learning spaces for youth, as well the psychosocial, emotional, and academic experiences and outcomes of low-income students of color in academic contexts. While at UCLA she was the lead author of a research brief, Keeping Students Safe in Los Angeles, examining student safety and school policing in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She also solo-authored a paper in a special series of School Psychology Review entitled Centering Race to Move Towards an Intersectional Ecological Framework for Defining School Safety for Black Students. Edwards is a certified K-6 educator and received her B.A in Clinical Psychology and Child Development from Tufts University in 2011. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Boston College Lynch School of Education & Human Development.