Mayra Nuñez Martinez

Mayra Nuñez Martinez is a postdoctoral scholar and research fellow at Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research and an affiliate of the California Education Lab in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. Her research examines factors influencing college access, retention, and completion for Latinx students in rural areas, with a focus on eliminating systemic barriers to bachelor's degree attainment. She previously served as a graduate student researcher in the UC Davis School of Education and a research scientist at the Community College Research Initiatives at the University of Washington. She was formerly a high school biology teacher in the Delano Joint Union High School District and a college access advisor with The Wonderful Company. Nuñez Martinez immigrated from Sinaloa, México, at the age of six and was raised in California’s South San Joaquin Valley, where she worked alongside her mother in the agricultural fields. She earned a BA in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in education from the University of California, Davis, and a PhD in school organization and education policy from the University of California, Davis.

updated 2025