Alejandro Covarrubias

7339 Bunche
acovarru@sbcglobal.net

Education

Ph. D., Social Sciences and Comparative Education, Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California at Los Angeles, 2005.
M. A., Social Sciences and Comparative Education, Race and Ethnic Studies, University of California at Los Angeles, 1998.
B. A., Psychology, Minor in Education, University of California at Los Angeles, 1997.

Biography and Interests

Alejandro Covarrubias has extensive experience in community-based research and community engagement projects. He was the founder and former executive director of Los Angeles Communities Advocating for Unity, Social Justice, and Action (LA CAUSA), an East Los Angeles non-profit organization that he developed into one of the leading producers of locally and nationally recognized young leaders of color. His work with young adults and their families is widely recognized as a model for the meaningful engagement of vulnerable populations in community transformation efforts, especially for those formerly pushed out of high school.

Covarrubias has also done research that examines the philosophical foundations, pedagogical commitments, and networks of organization that lead into the intentional engagement of those most impacted by unjust relations of power. His research on the gendered experience of Chicano high school "push-outs" draws from the critical race notion of intersectionality, finding that gender is an important factor in the educational experience and outcomes of males of color. Lastly, his quantitative intersectional analysis of educational achievement pushes our understanding of the Chicana/o educational pipeline to previously unexamined areas.

In addition to his work as visiting faculty in the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o Studies, Covarrubias has served as an instructor and lecturer in the California State University at Northridge, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.

The sixth child of Mexican immigrants from Jalisco, Covarrubias grew up in Wilmington and La Puente. In 2005, he earned his Ph. D. from the UCLA Graduate School of Education in Social Science and Comparative Education, with an emphasis on Race and Ethnic Studies.

Selected Publications

Covarrubias, A. & Tijerina Revilla, A. (2003) "Agencies of Transformational Resistance: Dismantling Discrimination at the Intersection of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality through LatCrit Praxis," University of Florida Law Review, 55, 460-477

Covarrubias, A, "Raising a Multidimensional Consciousness of Resistance." In Berta-Avila, M., Tijerina Revilla, A., and Figueroa, J. (2011) Marching Students: Chicana and Chicano Activism in Education, 1968 to the Present. Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press.

Covarrubias, A. (2011) "Quantitative Intersectionality: A Critical Race Analysis of the Chicana/o Educational Pipeline." Journal of Latinos and Education, 10, (2), 86-105.