Calaia S. Jackson is a third-year doctoral student in the Public Policy and Administration Ph.D. program at The Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at The University of Delaware with research interests in education and social policy. She is also participating in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s leadership programs, Health Policy Research Scholars, learning to lead and collaborate across disciplines and use her research to drive policy change and build a culture of health. At UD, she is focusing on the ways physical and mental health are influenced by the interrelated areas of education and social policies to galvanize more equitable outcomes for socially marginalized and disadvantaged populations. More broadly, Calaia is interested in the sociocultural and political context of education policy and seeks to empirically investigate and contextualize barriers to equitable opportunities and outcomes by uncovering the policies, systems, and environments that mediate the relationship between schooling and other outcomes. By identifying the mechanisms and processes through which U.S. K-12 schooling serves as a stratifying institution that reifies existing inequalities, particularly by race, gender, and socioeconomic status, Calaia’s scholarship will provide research evidence about how racial disparities and social inequities can be reduced via more democratic policy designs and governance.
Calaia studied political science and Spanish at the University of North Texas before completing a service year with AmeriCorps’ City Year San Antonio. She received the Dean’s Leadership Certificate and her Master of Public Service Administration degree in public policy analysis from The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University focusing on education policy and state & local government policy and management. Prior to attending the Biden School, Calaia worked for The American Heart Association as a research and project coordinator. She is a 2021-23 recipient of the University of Delaware Graduate College’s University Graduate Scholar award and a first-generation scholar from Dallas, Texas. Calaia is an award-winning miniaturist and scale modeler, competitive billiards player, and former Girl Scout.
Pronouns: she, her, hers, ella, ellas
The University of Delaware occupies lands vital to the web of life for Lenni Lenape and Nanticoke, who share their ancestry, history, and future in this region. Their continuing tribal communities steward the ecologies and traditions of this region today. Health Policy Research Scholars is a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It supports scholars from diverse disciplines and backgrounds in applying and advocating for policy change that improves health and equity. The opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the opinions of the program or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To learn more about Health Policy Research Scholars and RWJF’s other leadership programs, and to meet other participants, visit www.healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org.