My research uses developmental and sociological perspectives to investigate the mechanisms that shape racial-ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in post-secondary educational attainment and entry to scientific career fields, especially in engineering, computing, and other STEM areas. Increasingly, that involves work moving from the study of individuals to the study of systems and the engagement of partnerships. I feel fortunate to do the work I do and with the support and collaborators I have. Current initiatives include research dissemination and stakeholder engagement around sustainable approaches to enhancing opportunity and inclusive excellence in higher education.
My research centers on two focal strands: access to higher education and underrepresentation in specific STEM majors and careers. These strands share an aim: to identify mechanisms that could be addressed through policy and institutional interventions to broaden the participation of women and underrepresented groups in higher education and scientific careers, irrespective of their social background. A third strand builds on and centers equity through narrative writing. From the start, my research has and continues to pursue the following question: How can we equitably enhance educational success for students who have been historically underserved and underrepresented in higher education?
My expertise leverages my interdisciplinary and multiple methodological skills to intervene in seemingly persistent disparities and underrepresentation in college and STEM careers. Specifically, I examine (1) young people’s academic ability beliefs and (2) the social and schooling contexts that influence their college and career outcomes. These key factors – examined alternately with quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methodology – are leveraged to investigate mechanisms which might intervene in current disparities in access to higher education, high-status and high-earning fields (STEM), and degree attainment. In these studies, I alternately employ secondary analysis of large-scale state and national longitudinal datasets and/or original research using longitudinal surveys, secondary analyses of large-scale institutional and/or government data, participant observation, and interview methodology. I remain committed to investigating and addressing seemingly entrenched educational disparities, leveraging interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives, research evidence, and collaborative partnerships.
Lara Perez-Felkner, Ph.D. 
Thank you for continuing this important research; I wrote my dissertation on this very topic. And, as a developmental mathematics instructor at the community college level, I find the pervasive nature of negative self-talk in math highly disheartening.