CHICAGO, January 15, 2025 — NORC at the University of Chicago selected six candidates to participate in the 2025 Equity Scholars Program. The scholars will collaborate with and be mentored by NORC experts to advance inclusive and equitable research, including culturally responsive research methods, in partnership with nationally recognized social scientists.

“We are excited to continue the Equity Scholars Program supporting emerging scientists’ development of rigorous, nonpartisan research skills that promote health, economic, and educational equity,” said Ashani Johnson-Turbes, NORC vice president and director of NORC’s Center on Equity Research. “The future of inclusive and equitable research is in research method standards and in the commitments and considerations carried forward by researchers in coming years.” 

The 2025 cohort (in alphabetical order) will design and conduct secondary analyses of data from 12 available datasets or conduct primary research using the AmeriSpeak Amplify AAPI panel: 

• Jailene Aguirre, MS, is a senior research associate in Economics, Justice & Society at NORC whose research explores the experiences of historically marginalized people. As an Equity Scholar, Aguirre will use the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) 2019 home-based care dataset to examine how the intersecting identities and regional locations of home-based caregivers influence their provision of formal and informal social support to the families they serve. 
• Elc Estrera, PhD, is a director in Data, Research & Accountability at the Wake County (N.C.) Public School System. He guides district leadership to leverage research and data to make evidence-based decisions that promote equity. As an Equity Scholar, Estrera will analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and study how principals influence student outcomes.  
• Wen Guan, MA, is a PhD student at the University of California, Davis. She is a mixed-methods researcher studying reentry and recidivism, homelessness, formerly incarcerated populations, hate crimes, and organizations. As an Equity Scholar, Guan will use Amplify AAPI data to conduct research on what is needed to promote community safety for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities across the United States.
• ShuXian (Jenny) Mai, MA, is a PhD student in Health Communication at Rutgers University and Chinese American Mental Health Outreach program coordinator at the National Alliance on Mental Illness–New Jersey. As an Equity Scholar, Mai will use Amplify AAPI data to study how social support and collective resilience relate to psychological health outcomes and how these associations can be buffers against stressors. 
• Skky Martin, PhD, is a research methodologist in Methodology & Quantitative Social Sciences at NORC. Her research focuses on studying and advancing mental health and health equity. As an Equity Scholar, Martin will use Round 3 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) dataset to explore how social support of older adults diagnosed with cancer is associated with positive mental health.
• Alejandro Pocoroba, MS, is a sociologist having worked at research centers across Latin America, conducted fieldwork on military bases, and interviewed members of Mexico’s self-defense group and relatives of people deprived of liberty. As an Equity Scholar, Pocoroba will use National Immunization Surveys data to examine how data collection tools are designed and evaluate their effectiveness in reaching underrepresented populations. 

Scholars will also join networking opportunities with NORC and other research professionals. The 2025 Equity Scholars Program operates from January through August 2025.

“In mentoring these early career scholars, we hope to not only expand the talent pathways in social science but to equip the rising generations of researchers with the skills and awareness to confront disparities and inequity, as well as proactively use research to promote equity,” said Diana Serrano, a research scientist in NORC’s Education & Child Development department and the Center on Equity Research.