Dr. Carmen Cruz is the Co-Founder of 1st-Gen Scholars. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Washington State University, and both her Masters and Doctor of Education Degrees from The University of Texas System: Stephen F. Austin State University.

Former NASA STEM lead, she possesses over twenty years of teaching experience in formal, informal, and government educational settings working with underrepresented students and has developed STEM curriculum/programs for local, regional, national, and global organizations. She serves on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education and she is a current member and reviewer for the following organizations: American Educational Research Association, the Association of the Study of Higher Education, The New York Academy of Sciences, and the University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute.

Her research interests include: diversity/equity/inclusion, Latina/o student access/persistence/retention in higher education, developing mentoring/coaching programs, and P-20 STEM education.

As a first-generation Latina, growing up economically disadvantaged and routinely marginalized in schools, she recognizes underrepresented students need support systems, mentors, and advocates in the pursuit of an education. To all students that were once told pursuing an education was impossible, never believe it, si se puede, adelante.

Our non-profit organization started off with one mother's vision.