Norma Romero, a Los Angeles native, is the founding Director of LMU’s Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math & Science projects. In this role, she has the privilege of working with high school students to help them realize their academic and personal potential, in an environment that fosters a sense of community that supports learning and personal growth for all participants. Norma began her work at LMU in 2004 as Assistant Director, and then Director, of Ethnic & Intercultural Services. She became the UB Project Director in 2007, and added oversight of UBMS in 2017. She has held several TRIO positions, including eleven years as the Director of the Student Support Services Program at CSU San Bernardino, Director of Upward Bound at the National Hispanic University in Oakland, and Assistant Director of Upward Bound at Occidental College. She holds a BA in Psychology from CSU Long Beach, a Secondary Teaching Credential, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from CSU San Bernardino. As a proud first-generation student, Norma’s primary research interests include the challenges, strengths, and experiences of low-income and first-generation college students, and social and educational inequity in general. Norma's dissertation, “In Their Own Voices: The First-Year College Experiences of Upward Bound Alumni at Four-Year Postsecondary Institutions,” featured the stories of first-generation and low-income students in their first year of college. Privileging student voices was at the heart of the research. Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth framework served as the lens from which to uncover and elevate the forms of capital at play in participant experiences, prior to and in college.