Jaime (he/him/él) is a Senior Policy Analyst in Higher Education at EdTrust-West. As a first-generation, low-income, bilingual Latino from rural California, Jaime’s journey navigating the education system fuels his commitment to advancing racial equity in college affordability, access, and success for historically excluded populations. Before joining EdTrust-West, Jaime provided college advising to students through Upward Bound, the Educational Opportunity Program, and the Destination College Advising Corps, where he gained deep insight into the range of barriers students face in accessing and completing college. He later applied these insights as an award-winning Policy Analyst at The Education Trust, where he centered student experiences to advance racial equity policies and practices in college affordability.
To deepen his ability to connect research, advocacy, and policy, Jaime is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in School Organization and Education Policy at the UC Davis School of Education. He has expanded his policy training through internships at The Institute for College Access and Success, The Century Foundation, and the California Education Lab at UC Davis. His work has been published in Inside Higher Ed, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and The Journal of Higher Education. He is also the recipient of the NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, the UC Davis Dean’s Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, and the Gardner Fellowship in Higher Education from UC Berkeley.
A proud son of immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico, and a native of Smith River, CA, Jaime holds a master’s degree in Higher Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and bachelor’s degrees in Chicanx Studies and Managerial Economics from UC Davis.