Cortes Santiago joined CLINIC in 2019 as an Outreach Communications Manager focused on technical writing and editing, resource and report development and social media management. She brings extensive experience in writing, editing, teaching, research, program management and other areas. Cortes Santiago is a native of Puerto Rico, with an undergraduate and graduate degrees in English from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in literacy and language education from Purdue University. She has an additional specialization in Teaching English Language Learner in K-12 from Purdue.

Cortes Santiago’s previous professional experience includes working with a communications team at the National Science Foundation, teaching in the United States and international contexts and serving as acting director of a women’s leadership center at Purdue. Her practitioner work and research has focused on Latino/a family engagement, partnership building between higher education and community organizations, diversity and inclusion, and biliteracy development.