Dr. Marla Delgado-Guerrero has been appointed as the next director of the UW–Madison Posse program. Dr. Delgado-Guerrero will begin her position on Nov. 1.
A three-time Badger, Dr. Delgado-Guerrero earned her bachelor’s degree in family and consumer journalism, her certificate in Chican@ and Latin@ studies, her M.S. in counseling in higher education and her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
“Words cannot truly describe the feeling of coming home to the very institution that provided me the space to learn, grow, develop my identity, and forge a path for success,” says Dr. Delgado-Guerrero. “The UW Posse program has had a tremendous influence on my own educational journey.”
While she was a student at UW, she had close personal and professional connections with the Posse program, having served as a mentor for the Chicago Posse 6 from 2007-09. She also held roles in PEOPLE, the Center for Educational Opportunity, Student SEED, the Multicultural Student Center and the Office of Social Justice Education. She co-founded the Wisconsin Latina/o Student Psychological Association, the Alpha Kappa Alumnae Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc., and the Latino Graduate Student Association at UW–Madison.
She was honored with UW–Madison’s Outstanding Women of Color Award as a doctoral candidate in 2014-15 in recognition of her community service and educational advocacy for a wide range of historically underrepresented students. She was also inducted into the UW–Madison chapter of the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Student Honor Society.
Dr. Delgado-Guerrero is returning to UW–Madison after six years at Marquette University, where she was an adjunct professor, mental health practitioner and diversity coordinator in the Counseling Center. Her leadership, deep understanding of marginalized student experiences, familiarity with student mental health practices, and first-hand knowledge of Posse at UW will all serve her well as she leads Posse into a new era for the program.
“Dr. Delgado-Guerrero will be a tremendous addition to the UW Posse program and the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement,” says Dr. Raul Leon, assistant vice provost for student engagement and scholarship programs. “Her expertise, passion and commitment to students are admirable, and I look forward to working with Marla to continue to enhance students’ leadership skills and opportunities on campus and in our community.”
Founded in 1989, the national Posse Foundation identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential whom traditional college selection processes may overlook. The program extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams — Posses — of 10 students. Posse partner colleges and universities award Posse scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships.
UW became a Posse partner in 2002, becoming the first major public research institution to partner with the program. UW remains the Posse Foundation’s largest partner with four cohorts from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. More than 700 Posse scholars have received merit scholarships to attend UW–Madison.