A Full Circle Moment: Mentorship in the Diversity Leadership Academy

The Council for Exceptional Children’s Diversity Leadership Academy (DLA) supports early career special educators through mentorship focused on equity, inclusion, and leadership. A key feature of the program is its mentorship component, which pairs each scholar with a seasoned leader in the field. 

Alyssa Barrera Lansford, a PhD student and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst at the University of Texas at Austin, joined DLA to deepen her understanding of equity in special education, especially through a lens that honors her intersectional identity.

She was thrilled to be paired with Dr. Kristina Rios, Assistant Professor at California State University, Fresno. “Funny story,” Alyssa said. “I was, and still am, a huge admirer of Dr. Rios’s work.” Her first published article was an extension of one of Dr. Rios’s publications, making their meeting a “full circle moment.”

Their mentorship covered everything from navigating the dissertation process to confidently speaking Spanish with research participants. “Having Dr. Rios as a mentor validated my experiences and reinforced my place in both academia and my field,” Alyssa shared. 

Dr. Rios brings deep experience as a special education teacher and researcher focused on Latinx families and systemic barriers. She described mentorship as “a natural extension of the advocacy and relationship-building that define my career,” emphasizing partnership over hierarchy: “The most meaningful moments come from mutual growth.”

This spirit of reciprocity shaped their evolving relationship and inspired Alyssa’s future goals: integrating equity-focused research and culturally sustaining practices into applied behavior analysis.

“True progress comes when we listen deeply to those we aim to support,” Alyssa said. “Only then can we create systems that are not just effective, but equitable and empowering.”