Natalia Ortiz

Dr. Natalia Ortiz (she/her/ella) is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Director of the Office of School and Community Partnerships in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. Profe Ortiz is a mother of two, and a Chilena-Riqueña native New Yorker who was educated in the public schools of New York City and brings sixteen years of experience as a classroom teacher, university professor, racial equity practitioner, coach, mentor, organizer, writer, and facilitator. Her research and courses on campus focus on anti-racist and social justice-based education, critical performative pedagogy that implements the use of Theater of the Oppressed as a reflective tool for teachers as well as teacher inquiry to action groups. Dr. Ortiz is featured as one of the four teacher activists in Keith Catone’s recent book, The Pedagogy of Teacher Activism. She also has been invited to speak on panels, present papers, lead workshops, and give keynote addresses at academic institutions and conferences such as the American Education Research Association’s Annual Conference, Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and Teachers College, to name a few. Along with her work in schools, academic institutions, and equity organizations, Natalia is a board member of the Education for Liberation Network, a national coalition of teachers, community activists, researchers, youth, and parents whose aim is to help improve the practice of education for liberation by bringing people together to learn from each other’s experiences. She is also a core member of the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE), a grassroots organization that fights for social justice inside and outside the classroom. Natalia received her Bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University, her Master’s Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her PhD in Urban Education at The CUNY Graduate Center. 

As for Natalia's prior experience, she is a former founding social studies teacher at a transfer high school located in Brooklyn, NY.  She has coached professors with the implementation of writing and student-centered pedagogy as a Writing Across Curriculum Fellow at LaGuardia Community College.  She has taught both undergraduate and graduate students in Social Studies Education as part of the Curriculum and Teaching program at Hunter College and undergraduate students at Barnard College as a Term Assistant Professor in their Education Program. In addition to higher education experience,  Natalia served as the Director of Programs at the Center for Racial Justice in Education (CRJE), a nonprofit organization, and as an Equity Transformation Specialist with Courageous Conversation working with educators in developing a racial equity practice.

When Natalia is not educating, facilitating or organizing she is dancing, spending time with loved ones, traveling, and enjoying theater.