Omar Davila Jr. received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. His research examines the nexus of education policy, political discourse, and the social construction of merit. More specifically, he investigates how social inequality is reproduced and resisted; how political ideologies shape academic contexts; and how to reimagine education to serve a transformative end. At Santa Clara University, he serves as Director of the Future Teachers Project (FTP) and teaches various courses in Child Studies, including Urban Education & Multiculturalism, Qualitative Research Methods, and the FTP Seminar.