Education Research Associate, SRI Education
Keena Walters, an equity-focused qualitative researcher in education, supports SRI Education research and technical assistance projects. At SRI, she applies her experience with qualitative data collection and analysis on projects related to college and career pathways, including projects related to postsecondary collaboration and community college reform.
Before SRI, Walters worked as an associate consultant at Phase Two Advisory and as a consultant with the Education Insights (EdInsights) Center at California State University (CSU), Sacramento. At EdInsights, Keena supported the CSU Student Success Network, researching topics of relevance to the system and building professional learning opportunities. Walters did her thesis on the administrative barriers faced by first-generation students of color and has worked with universities in the CSU system to disseminate her research findings. She has worked in education nonprofits for 10 years, including The Education Trust-West. Before that, she worked for a startup prison reform organization in the hopes of using education to dismantle the mass incarceration system. Keena has a background in special education and administration. She recently completed her master’s degree in social and cultural analysis of education from CSU Long Beach.
Key projects
- Peer Learning Community for the California Community College
- Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative
Publications
“I had to surpass”: Administrative barriers that first-generation college students of color face*
*The publication listed is prior to joining SRI .
