Erick Ramirez Manriquez is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. Holding a Master of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor’s in Sociology-Social Inequality—both with high distinctions from UC San Diego—Erick’s academic pursuits and pedagogy are shaped by his critical self-reflection and action. While centering on issues of race and ethnicity within educational institutions, Erick has worked with two-year and four-year California Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in implementing culturally sustaining programs and comprehensive institutional practices to advance student equity for Latinx transfer students.

As a testament to the advancement of racial justice, Erick has been the recipient of multiple accolades and nominations, including the Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (Honorable Mention-2022), Oceanids Memorial Fellowship (2021), UC Santa Cruz HSI Transformative Service Award (2019), Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action & Diversity Award (2017), and UC President’s Award for Outstanding Student Leadership (Nomination-2017). At Phase Two Advisory, Erick will support in identifying equity-minded developmental placement approaches, centering placement on broader institutional improvement efforts.