Sylvia J. Hodge has worked in diverse fields of education, including public and charter school organizations, and the Texas Education Agency. In 2014, she was awarded a fellowship from the National Head Start Association in Washington D.C., where she co-authored Two Generations Together: Case Studies from Head Start, a report on successful two-generational approaches used by Head Start and Early Head Start programs. As the Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at LMU, she supports research that focuses on state- and district-level accountability for English Learners, as well as policy implications. Sylvia has co-authored reports and peer-reviewed articles focused on how California's school funding and accountability policies affect educational opportunities for English Learners. As an Assistant Director at CEEL, Sylvia supports Project ROYAL, a multi-year National Professional Development grant that was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2016. Project ROYAL focuses on the creation and implementation of a coherent and comprehensive professional development program for pre-service and in-service teachers in classroom strategies to advance outcomes for English Learners. Sylvia received her M.Ed. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include the intersections and impact of policies on linguistically and culturally diverse students and their families. Sylvia's dissertation, “Where is the Local in Local Control? Testimonios of Latina Parent Leaders in the Local Control and Accountability Plan Process,” documents the experiences of Latina parent leaders in the LCAP decision-making process across four Southern California school districts.