What I do:

I spend most of my days working at Santa Monica College as a Professor in Ethnic Studies. Prior to Santa Monica, I worked at UCLA as a Senior Analyst for the Student Affairs Information and Research Office where I consulted departments on assessment and evaluation projects, handled data requests for surveys, and analyzed/visualized data using SPSS and Tableau. I also created the Equity Based Assessment training series for combining critical theory with student affairs assessment. Outside of Santa Monica College I have served as a consultant on various research and assessment projects both inside and outside of the university.

When I’m not wearing my professor hat, I am probably engaging in creative pursuits such as photography & poetry, searching for new music to play, or lifting heavy things at the local gym.

Things I’ve done:

Teaching

Santa Monica College
“Introduction to Ethnic Studies”
“Introduction to Asian American Studies”
Saddleback College
“Introduction to Ethnic Studies”
California State University, Northridge
“History of Asians in America”
Western Washington University
”Critical Asian American Education”
University of Washington, Seattle
”Identities, Cultures, And Power Across American Ethnic Groups”
'“Race and Ethnicity in Education”

Workshops and Speaking

I have spoken and facilitated workshops at different universities, organizations, and other community spaces. Below is a sample of topics I frequently present on:

Navigating 2 and 4 year college and graduate school systems
How to develop and implement research projects
Qualitative research methods
Equity based assessment practices
Student (over)involvement in college
Asian American/Filipinx American Education Experiences
Asian Americans and Internet Culture
Affirmative Action

Want to hire me for a workshop and/or speaking engagement?
For all inquiries, please use my contact form.

Some Institutions I Have Worked With

University of Washington
California State University East Bay
California State University Northridge
Western Washington University
University of California, Davis
University of California, Los Angeles
Claremont Graduate School of Education
California Lutheran University
San Francisco State University
Saddleback College

Scholarship

I have published and presented on Filipinx college student experience, Student Engagement theory, Student Involvement theory, equity in student affairs assessment, and other topics. Here are some of places I have shared my work:

Conferences/Professional Organizations

Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS)
American Psychological Association, Division on Filipino Americans (APA,DoFA)
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
Association For the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
Association For Ethnic Studies (AES)
Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies

Selected Publications

Deleon, R (2022), Entry on The Other Students, Filipino Americans, Education, and Power. In Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies. Eds Kevin Nadal, Alyson Tintiangco-Cubales, and E.J.R. David Eds. Sage Publications.

Deleon, R. (2022) Filipinx American College Student Identities: A Critique of Models. In Filipinx American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Reckoning. New York City: Fordham University Press. 

Deleon, R. (2021) [Review of the book Filipino Studies: Palimpsests of Nation and Diaspora By Martin Manalansan and Augusto Espiritu, Eds.] In Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies.

Deleon, R. (2020) [Review of the book Straight As: Asian American college students in their own words By C. Yano and N. Adolph Akatsuka, Eds.] In the Journal of Asian American Studies.