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Ana Contreras is the Faculty Director of the Multicultural Scholars Program and Faculty Lead for the Education Diversity Scholars program. She is also an assistant teaching professor for the Leadership and Community Engagement Major. Ana brings to this role rich experiences and knowledge from her three-year ethnographic and participatory study of parent and community engagement with transnational families in a diverse high school. This research captures the journey of this school, its school leader, and its families to heal from fragmentation from racialized divisions, gentrification, and school closures in this urban neighborhood. Prior to these current roles, Ana worked as an elementary school teacher and community liaison where she developed school-community partnerships and a curriculum based on community engagement. She is also a community engagement specialist and instructor for teachers obtaining CLD and Special Education licensures.

Ana has received awards for her scholarship, including the 2025 William J. Davis Award for the most outstanding article published in Educational Administration Quarterly. Her work has appeared in journals such as Anthropology Education Quarterly and Educational Administration Quarterly. Ana holds a PhD in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice from ºÚÁÏÉçÇøÍø’s School of Education and a B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology from Hendrix College.