The Marsal Family School of Education announces the 2022-23 Alumni Award recipients

Each year, the Marsal Family School of Education Alumni Awards recognize the incredible accomplishments of our alumni, whether they are seasoned professionals or newer to their careers. The Emerging Leader Alumni Award is presented to an alum with fewer than 10 years of professional experience after completing their degree at the Marsal School. This award champions alumni who demonstrate a commitment to the profession of education, show potential for continued leadership, and exhibit a passion for equity and justice in the field of education. The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to an alum who has made significant contributions to their profession, and whose accomplishments exemplify leadership, innovation, and passion for advancing the field of education.

Emerging Leader Alumni Award 
Jessica Cañas (AM ’14) was born and raised in the community of Albany Park on the northwest side of Chicago. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, an environmentalist, researcher, and life-long learner. After graduating from Loyola University with her Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Environmental Studies, she began her professional career working at a grassroots environmental justice organization on the southeast side of Chicago. She continued her environmental work in Honduras through the Peace Corps and later at Chicago’s Field Museum in the department of Environment, Culture, and Conservation. In 2013 she made a career shift to pursue a Masters in Diversity and Social Justice in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. Upon completion of her degree, she returned to her hometown of Chicago to support the convening of the Little Village Education Collaborative (LVEC) at Enlace Chicago, a community-based organization serving the predominantly Mexican immigrant community of Little Village on the southwest side of the city. Through LVEC she worked on collective impact and system alignment between Chicago Public Schools and local postsecondary institutions to increase college access and retention of Little Village residents. During her time at Enlace Chicago she authored a research report titled Little Village College Enrollment Report: Where Data Calls for Social Change. She is currently a Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Kids First Chicago where she works to ensure that families and communities are respected authorities and decision makers in the education of their children. 

Distinguished Alumni Award for Primary/Secondary Education
Alicia Baturoni Cortez (AB ’95) is a career STEM educator with 27 years’ experience creating engaging learning opportunities for students of all ages. She currently serves as an Integration Manager in NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement for the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). In this role she works to enhance the research, academic, and technological capabilities at Minority Serving Institutions to contribute to NASA missions and a diverse future STEM Workforce. She lives in Houston, Texas where she is an active member of the educational advocacy community for diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to raising her two sons with her husband, her hobbies include adventure motorcycle riding and exploring the unique cuisine and street art of Houston.

Distinguished Alumni Award for Postsecondary Education
Laura I. Rendón (PhD ’82) is a nationally-recognized student advocate, activist scholar, and contemplative educator. Rendón is part of a network of public speakers affiliated with SpeakOut-The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture. She has made hundreds of keynote addresses, workshops, and research presentations for national and international colleges and universities, educational organizations, and non-profit entities.

Rendón grew up in a low-income, single-parent household along the U.S. Mexico Border in Laredo, Texas where she learned to speak English in the first grade. Rendón is a passionate advocate for low-income, first-generation students who she feels have hopes and dreams but often do not know how to realize them. She is also a teaching and learning thought leader, and is the author of Sentipensante Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation along with nine other books and monographs and an extensive list of scholarly publications focusing on success for underserved student populations.

Rendón holds professor emerita status at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and has held faculty and administrative appointments at a wide range of universities including the University of South Carolina, North Carolina State University, Arizona State University, California State University-Long Beach, Iowa State University and University of Texas-San Antonio.