Irene Sanchez, Ph.D. is a Xicana Mama, Teacher, Writer, Poet, Artist, and Public Scholar. Born in SE Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire, she first learned about Ethnic Studies/Chicano Studies from her first teachers, her parents who were born and raised in East Los Angeles. She is the granddaughter of 4 grandparents that immigrated to the United States from Mexico.

Irene attended Rubidoux High School, where she was a freshman student in the first Chicano Studies course demanded by the community following walkouts due to the racist proposition, Prop 187. Dr. Sanchez proudly attended a California Community College (Riverside City College) where she was placed on academic probation and dismissal, but thankfully had many people who believed in her who helped her find her way.

After 5 years in community college, she transferred to UC Santa Cruz where she earned her B.A. in Latin American/Latino Studies and Sociology. She went on to earn a M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington-Seattle with a Higher Education concentration. In addition, Dr. Sanchez completed a graduate certificate in Feminist Studies and was a fellow in the Public Scholarship program at the UW Simpson Center for the Humanities. She completed a California single subject social studies teaching credential in 2019.

After teaching college level Ethnic Studies and Education courses at the college level for nearly 8 years, Dr. Sanchez fulfilled a dream to become a high school teacher in 2017, teaching the only Chicano/Latino Studies course at three high schools everyday in the Azusa Unified School District for 6 years. Dr. Sanchez was selected as a Teacher Fellow for the Pulitzer Center in 2021 and was a member of the National Humanities Center Teacher Advisory Council for the 2019-2020 school year where she was the only teacher from California and only Ethnic Studies teacher on the 20 member council. Dr. Sanchez served on the Teacher Advisory Panel for The Huntington Library in 2022-2023 and in 2023 she was named a CA-Revealed and CA History Social Science Inaugural Teacher Fellow. In fall 2023 Dr. Sanchez was selected as the first full time tenure track Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at San Bernardino Valley College where she teaches Introduction to Ethnic Studies and Latina/o/x Studies.

An award wining poet/writer, public scholar, and author of the blog “Xicana Ph.D.”, Dr. Sanchez’ was the recipient of the 2018 Joe Hill Labor Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in CNN, HuffPost, Public Radio International, Zocalo Public Square, Inside Higher Ed and more. Her commentary has been featured by multiple public radio outlets and print publications including KPCC, KPFK, NPR Latino USA, LA Times, Education Week, and ProPublica and more. Her creative work was selected for the exhibit “Black and Brown in the IE and Beyond” on display at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture (November 2025-March 2026) and her poetry was published in Somos Xicanas from Riots of Roses Press in 2024. She has forthcoming work scheduled to be published in 2026 that includes a book chapter on an academic press on LatCrit and K-12 as well as poetry in an anthology.

Formal Schooling​

Degrees

2015-Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
University of Washington, Seattle

2011-M.Ed. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
University of Washington, Seattle

2008-BA Sociology and Latin American/Latino Studies
University of California, Santa Cruz​

2005-A.A. Social Science
Riverside City College

​Certificates

Single Subject Teaching Credential-Social Studies
Alliant International University

Graduate Certificate Feminist Studies
University of Washington, Seattle

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