Collaborators
Lead Equity is proud to collaborate with the leaders and changemakers whose throughtful practices contribute to uplifting the values of equity and inclusion through Lead Equity engagements.
Antonio Olmos, PhD
Expertise: Data Science, Evaluation and Assessment
Antonio Olmos has over 30 years of experience working in the field of program evaluation and research methods and was an Associate professor at the University of Denver in the fields of Research Methods and Program Evaluation. Dr. Olmos has been involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion as a consultant, working mostly on quantitative approaches to culturally competent data collection and analysis. More recently as part of his leadership at Aurora Research Institute (ARI), he has led several projects dedicated to DEI. He is passionate about demonstrating the effectiveness
of programs, and for many years he has worked around the idea of program effectiveness using research designs and research methods and incorporating DEI elements to improve effectiveness assessments. Dr. Olmos has presented at National and International conferences about topics such as Propensity scores, meta-analysis, instrument equivalence, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
Although specializing in quantitative methods, Dr. Olmos recognizes the importance of qualitative methods, and has extensive experience in mixed methods. Dr. Olmos has strong ties to Colorado, where he has worked as Director of Evaluation and Research (Mental Health Center of Denver), Associate professor (University of Denver), Board President (Colorado Evaluation Network), and local chair (American Evaluation Association).
Crystal Luce, MA, PhD Candidate
Expertise: Evaluation and Assessment
Crystal Luce has over seven years of experience in program evaluation in behavioral health, community needs, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Crystal has specific expertise in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation methods. Prior to joining ARI, Crystal worked on DEI projects on a local and state level. Crystal is finishing her doctorate in Research and Evaluation methods, with certificates in measurement and ethnic studies from the University of Colorado – Denver. Her research includes measuring cultural validity in measurement tools.
She is the current President of the Colorado Evaluation Network, Chair of the New Evaluators and Graduate Students topic interest group of the American Evaluation Network and is an adjunct faculty member at several local universities.
Junior Reina, PhD
Expertise: Community Engagement and Outreach, Student Success
Junior is first-generation higher education professional and an expert in community outreach and engagement. He was raised in northeast Denver after living in Los Angeles. Junior holds a B.A. in English Writing, an M.A. in Secondary Education, and a Ph.D. in Critical Studies in Education, all from the University of Colorado Denver, with a focus on Indigenous students in K-12 education. With 15 years of experience in higher education, Junior has focused on empowering underrepresented students. He has served as a program manager at University of Colorado (Boulder) and is a director for community engagement at Regis University.
