Melissa A. Navarro Martell, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Liberal Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her research and teaching center the need to prepare critically conscious educators on the sociopolitical, ideological, cultural, and linguistic aspects of teacher preparation in general, and equitable science and dual-language education specifically. She teaches undergraduate courses in STEM and graduate education courses in Spanish. Her experiences as an immigrant 6th grade student from Tijuana, Mexico, inspired her path as an educator who understands bilingual learners. Dr. Navarro Martell is a former 4th and 8th grade math and science dual-language teacher.