Daniel Estrada, PhD

As a policy analyst for California LULAC from 2014 to 2018, Dr. Daniel M. Estrada advised the state organization on issues of higher education policy. The issues addressed included: enrollment, retention and graduation rates for Latinos in California’s tripartite system of community colleges, state universities and University of California campuses. Dr. Estrada
published several articles for California LULAC’s website on California higher education. In addition, he organized workshops at California LULAC’s 2016 annual conferences in coordination with other Latino education advocacy groups such as the Campaign for College Opportunity and the Education Trust West. From 2016 to 2017, Dr. Estrada organized a series of meetings with the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office to discuss issues of Latino student enrollment, retention and graduation rates, ethnic studies curriculum, as well as faculty and administrative diversity in the twenty-three CSU campuses. Besides his statewide work with California LULAC, Dr. Estrada chaired an advisory committee to California State University Fullerton (CSUF) President Mildred Garcia from 2014 to 2018. Dr. Estrada is an alumnus of CSUF.

While serving as California LULAC’s policy analyst, Dr. Estrada organized meetings
with California LULAC’s executive officers and immigrant advocacy groups such as the
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of LA (CHRILA), CARECEN, and the National
Immigration Law Center. These meetings led to a series of workshops on citizenship and a panel discussion on Immigration Issues for the California LULAC 2016 Convention, led by a
colleague, Dr. Linda Lopez, Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of Los
Angeles.  From 2013 to 2018, Dr. Estrada volunteered to assist with LULAC National’s
congressional advocacy programs in Washington DC.  He also organized meetings in California with the Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, State Assemblyman, Jose Medina, and his legislative staff.

Two years after serving as California LULAC’s policy analyst, Dr. Estrada presented a report to the National LULAC Executive Board in February 2020.  The report explained that Latino students are attending colleges and universities in the US at much greater rates than other groups including non-Hispanic whites.  At the same time, graduation rates for Latinos are preventing this group from narrowing the BA degree gap between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites.  The US should invest in Latino Higher Education in order to be competitive with the rest of the world in the percent of college degrees within the country’s population and workforce demands for the US economy.  With almost one in five US residents being of Latin American origin, according to the 2020 Census, this country’s workforce is expected to be more diverse.   Dr. Estrada now serves on LULAC National’s Higher Education Committee.

Daniel M. Estrada received his doctorate degree from the Claremont Graduate
University focusing on Political Theory and International Relations. He has been an Assistant
Professor of Political Science and Ethnic Studies at Washington State University (WSU). While at WSU, Dr. Estrada was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center (SRC).  Dr. Estrada has published articles on the demography and politics of Mexican origin communities in Central and Eastern Washington state. Before retiring from LA County Probation after almost 19 years, Dr. Estrada accepted an adjunct professorship at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA) teaching classes in: “Constitutional Law and Latino Equity,” “Environmental Justice,” and “Race, Class and Gender.” He recently received two book contracts.  The first was from Kendall Hunt to republish and update a book on gang enhancement laws.  The second book contract was from Lexington Books to publish a manuscript on California’s voting rights laws with Dr. Luis Fraga of Notre Dame University.  Previously, Dr. Estrada organized voting rights workshops for California LULAC and university classes working with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) attorneys and NALEO policy analysts.