Frances Contreras is an associate professor of Higher Education in the area of Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Washington. She also serves as the Director for the Higher Education Program. Her research focuses on educational equity for Latino students, the transition to college for underrepresented students, the role of Hispanic serving institutions in expanding higher education persistence and success, and public policies that influence educational access across a P-20 continuum. Her previous works include a book with Pátricia Gándara, The Latino Education Crisis (Harvard University Press, 2009), as well as articles in the Harvard Educational Review, Educational Policy, Journal of Hispanics in Higher Education, Journal of Advanced Academics, the Handbook on Latinos and Education and a number of book chapters in edited volumes.