The Institute of Early Education Leadership and Innovation at UMass Boston announces today that Marcelo Juica, Ph.D. will join the Institute as its Director of Programs. Juica brings over 25 years of experience in higher education leadership and administration and training and programming around eliminating systemic inequities in education.
“Marcelo has the perfect combination of professional background, knowledge, and lived experience to shape this leadership role into a force for change at the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation,” said Anne Douglass, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation, Professor and Program Director, College of Education & Human Development, UMass Boston. “Throughout his career, Marcelo has married vision with strategy to create meaningful opportunities for immigrant students and bilingual students, single parents, and early childhood educators seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees. His expertise in the field of social justice and equity will be invaluable as we continue to build the field’s infrastructure and develop systems to attract, support, and sustain strong leadership at all levels of the early care and education workforce.”
Juica is a leading scholar and practitioner within the field of language acquisition programs for English language learners and bilinguals. He is an expert on policy issues affecting college students who are undocumented, have temporary protected status, or are protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He is fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and French. As Associate Dean at the Urban College of Boston, he led the federally-funded Tapping Academic Potential project, which provided opportunities to English language learners seeking associate degrees in early childhood education. As Executive Director of the Latino After School Initiative for the United Way of Massachusetts, he led all funding, advocacy, and curriculum development initiatives through the Latino After School Initiative. He also worked, most recently, at Endicott College, where he was co-founder and director of the Endicott College Boston campus.
“I’m so proud to join the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation as its Director of Programs. I’m excited to support collaboration and co-creation throughout the organization to deepen our capacity to expand leadership opportunities in the field, and also to shape the ways in which the Institute shares its learnings about leadership in early education with the rest of the world,” Juica said. “I am also thrilled to return to UMass Boston, where my career began as an undergraduate student in Human Services.”
Director of Programs is a new position for The Institute of Early Education Leadership and Innovation. Priorities for this leadership role include expanding the Leadership Institute’s capacity to impact early education leadership development locally and nationally and deepening partnerships with community-based organizations, foundations, funders, and government policy makers.
Juica serves as a representative of the Undocumented, Immigrants and Allies Knowledge Community for the New England region I of the National Association for Higher Education and Student Affairs. He served on the Latinx Leadership Committee for Education for the City of Boston under former Mayor Marty Walsh and was a 2005 Schott Foundation Fellow for Public Policy and Education. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Leadership and Social/Public Policy from Lesley University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Bilingual Education and Educational Media & Technology from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from UMass Boston. Juica is a native of Chile and has lived in Boston for over 30 years.
