About

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Diana Cordova-Cobo is a PhD candidate in the Sociology and Education program at Columbia University, a Research Fellow at the City University of New York (CUNY), and a Research Associate at the Center for Understanding Race and Education (CURE) at Teachers College, Columbia University. She previously worked as the Senior Research and Policy Analyst at the NYU Furman Center, where she led projects on New York City’s public housing and the racial and ethnic diversity of New York City’s neighborhoods and elementary schools.  She has also served as a research consultant for the New York City Department of Education and the New York Civil Liberties Union, and as a research assistant for the NYU Research Alliance’s High School Choice in NYC study.

Diana's main areas of study include race and ethnicity, education, housing, social policy, and inequality. Her current research focuses on the relationship between neighborhood gentrification and school demographic change with attention to how public schools respond to the racial and socioeconomic inequities brought on by these changes. Building off of this research, her dissertation explores the neighborhood and school preferences of Latinx families amid demographic change in the New York City Metropolitan Area post-2000. 
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In addition to her research interests, Diana is passionate about making research accessible and practical for educators, parents, community members, and policymakers. Prior to starting in the Sociology and Education program, Diana was a middle school social studies teacher in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. The lessons she learned from her students and the experiences they shared with her continue to motivate and inspire the work she does today.

Diana holds an M.A. in Social Studies Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida.