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UCEA Selects Mónica Byrne-Jiménez as New Executive Director
March 15th, 2019 by Marcy Reedy
The UCEA Executive Committee is proud to announce that Mónica Byrne-Jiménez, Ed.D., will be the new Executive Director effective June 1, 2019.
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Established more than 60 years ago, UCEA has been committed to the advancement and improvement of educational leadership preparation, research, and policy. With her experience in both K12 and higher education, Dr. Byrne-Jiménez will lead the organization and continue the work of UCEA member institutions. She will be UCEA’s sixth full-time Executive Director.
“I couldn’t be more pleased that the UCEA Executive Committee has selected Mónica Byrne-Jiménez to be the next UCEA president. Mónica brings an unmatched commitment to UCEA, distinguished record of scholarship and a wealth of deep relationships that will benefit UCEA long into the future. I know the consortium will thrive under her leadership.” stated Dr. Michelle Young, UCEA’s outgoing Executive Director.
UCEA President, Dr. Terah Venzant Chambers, echoed support for the selection saying, “The road to selecting a new Executive Director has been long, but the result is undoubtedly positive. I have absolute confidence that Mónica Byrne-Jiménez will provide competent and strong leadership for this organization we all love. I stand ready to work with her to ensure UCEA’s continued success.”
Please join the UCEA Executive Committee, the UCEA Headquarters staff, and the faculty at UCEA’s host institution, the University of Virginia, in welcoming Mónica Byrne-Jiménez to the Executive Director role.
We look to the UCEA community to provide support as she continues to address the challenges in our field and seeks opportunities on behalf of UCEA to enhance educational opportunities and excellence for all of our children, youth, and adults.
Commitment to UCEA
Mónica has been active in UCEA since 2006 and has served in various capacities including on the UCEA Review, Convention Planning Committee, module development for Preparing Leaders to Support Diverse Learners, Plenum Representative, facilitator in the Program Design Network, member of the Executive Committee, Associate Director for International Affairs, associate editor for EAQ, and past president. She has also represented UCEA on the ELCC Program Review committee for CAEP and on the National Educational Leadership Preparation Standards Committee.
“From the beginning of my academic career UCEA has been an integral part of my development and identity as a scholar and leader,” says Mónica, “I will continue to do all within my power to work with the EC, Plenum, and diverse member institutions to ensure that UCEA continues to provide the highest quality research and preparation of emerging and future scholars. Our work to create just and equitable schools for all children and communities is more important now than ever. In our role as a consortium and a community of scholars we must continue to prepare educational leaders who will change the world one student, one teacher, one classroom at a time.”
Professional Experience
Mónica earned her Ed.D. degree from the Teachers College, Columbia University, in Organization and Leadership. Before becoming faculty, she was an elementary bilingual teacher, bilingual reading teacher, and literacy instructional specialist in New York City. She also has experience coordinating an early childhood program and afterschool learning center as part of Project Reach Youth in Brooklyn. In addition, she worked as the Associate Director for the Accelerated Schools Center where she supported whole school and district reform. Currently, Mónica is on the faculty at Indiana University where she has taught introduction to educational leadership, school community relations, and intersecting identities and school leadership. While at Hofstra University and the University of Massachusetts Boston, she taught qualitative inquiry methods, leadership for English Language Learners, facilitating professional growth, culture of urban schools, teaching and learning in urban contexts, and organizational leadership. She also served as doctoral director and program coordinator throughout her career.
Her scholarship focuses on Latina/o identity and school leadership, social justice leadership preparation, faculty diversity and doctoral student experiences, and the role of alternative epistemologies in research and leadership. She is coauthor of Developing Effective Principals Through Collaborative Inquiry. Her work has appeared in the Leadership and Policy in Schools Journal, Frontiers in Education, Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, Handbook of Urban Educational Leadership, Handbook of Research on Educational Leadership for Diversity and Equity, Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders, International Journal of Educational Research, International Journal of Leadership in Education, Journal of Latinos and Education, and Voices in Urban Education.