Emmet E. Campos, Ph.D., directs Project MALES and the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color. Dr. Campos serves as the chief operations officer for all Project MALES and Consortium activities and is responsible for communications and engagement with key partners. He oversees three interrelated initiatives that make up Project MALES: a Research Institute focused on understanding the experiences of Latinx males across the education pipeline; a statewide Consortium of diverse K-12 and higher education institutions committed to dramatically increasing student success for male students of color in the state of Texas; and the Project MALES Mentoring Program, a school-based, peer and near-peer mentoring program that engages and empowers over middle and high school BMOC’s across Central Texas, and serves as a model for other mentoring programs across Texas.
He earned his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education/Curriculum and Instruction from UT Austin and has published articles in the Harvard Educational Review and Voices in Urban Education. Previously, he directed grant-funded initiatives focused on men of color in higher education and Latinx students college transfer and completion at the Center for Community College Student Engagement (UT Austin) where he directed all qualitative research initiatives, served as Project Director for the Institute for Community, University, and School Partnerships (UT Austin) building partnerships between the university, Austin ISD and the greater Austin community to empower young men of color to be academic and community leaders, and has also taught at UT Austin, St. Edward’s University and Austin Community College in the College of Education and English Departments.
Tamara Y. Craver, a 2022 recipient of the San Diego Business Journal’s CEO of the Year Award, has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit management, executive leadership, and youth development. She is a passionate advocate for first-generation college students and education equity.
Since joining the Reality Changers team in 2019, Ms. Craver has steered the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, overseen the creation of a 5-year strategic plan, and established an endowment for the organization. Programs and partnerships have grown under her leadership and alumni engagement has tripled during her time with the organization. Prior to coming to Reality Changers, Ms. Craver served as Director of The Posse Foundation, Director of Development and Communications for the Torrance South Bay YMCA, and Director, Social Markets for the American Heart Association, Western States Affiliates.
Ms. Craver is actively involved in the community, serving on the boards of LEAD San Diego and San Diego Squared, as well as the Advisory Council for San Diego Foundation’s Black Community Investment Fund. She is a member of the San Diego Rotary Club #33 and Executive Committee Chairperson for the Hoover Community Collaborative. Ms. Craver is a 2020 graduate of LEAD San Diego’s Influence program.
Dr. Charles Lu currently serves as the Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion at the Johns Hopkins University. Prior to arriving at Johns Hopkins, he was Director of the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS) at the University of California, San Diego and the Director of the Gateway Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Austin, where he led cross-functional efforts in student success, strategic initiatives, organizational change, and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Over the years, Dr. Lu has served as an educational researcher, consultant, school director, academic coach, middle school science teacher, and was the recipient of the Toyota International Teacher of the Year award, where he created a virtual curriculum on environmental sustainability in the Galápagos Islands. He is a proud alumnus of several notable programs, including Education Pioneers, the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Program, and the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies National Leadership Academy. Dr. Lu received his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and B.S. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, and his M.A. in Secondary Science Education from Loyola Marymount University.