Mara Sanchez, PhD

Lecturer

Education

  • PhD, University of Southern Maine (USM), 2024
  • MPPM, University of Southern Maine (USM), 2017
  • BA, Brown University, 2001

Mara Sanchez earned her BA at Brown University, her Masters degree in Public Policy at the University of Southern Maine (USM) and her PhD in Public Policy with a concentration in Higher Education Leadership, also at USM. Mara previously conducted criminal justice and youth justice policy research, program development, and evaluation at the Catherine Cutler Institute at USM. In that role, Mara co-created both the Place Matters project and the Opportunity Scholars initiative. Outside of teaching, Mara continues to serve in a consultant role with Opportunity Scholars and other initiatives that focus on making an impact on the lives of people who have experienced incarceration.

Selected Publications

 
Sanchez, M. (2024). CARCERAL DEGREES: Successful Postsecondary Educational Pathways for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System in Maine. https://www.proquest.com/pqdtglobal1/dissertations-theses/carceral-degrees-successful-postsecondary/docview/3093471299/sem-2?accountid=8120
 
Sanchez, M., Ali, A., McMullan, S., Gosselin, S. & Awad, A. (2022). Stories and recommendations from justice impacted students. https://placemattersmaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/opp_scholars_final.pdf
 
Sanchez, M., King, E., Ward, J. & Foley, J. (2021). Regional Care Teams first year review: Cross systems collaboration to improve positive youth outcomes. https://www.maine.gov/corrections/sites/maine.gov.corrections/files/inline-files/RCT_Report_WEB.pdf

Education

  • PhD, University of Southern Maine (USM), 2024
  • MPPM, University of Southern Maine (USM), 2017
  • BA, Brown University, 2001