A social work educator since 2008, Anna Nelson, LCSW, is a College Assistant Professor with NMSU School of Social Work. Ms. Nelson’s teaching philosophy is grounded in liberatory, culturally-sustaining praxis, which manifests through a Learning Collective approach to the classroom that challenges traditional power dynamics between professors and graduate students, builds on students’ cultural and other identity-based capital, and engages adult learners in experiential, assets-based learning. Also, Ms. Nelson employs mixed-methods participatory action research grounded in Critical Race and Intersectionality theories to understand cultural, cumulative and collective trauma and its impact on college students’ academic success with a strong focus on identity-driven resilience and resistance with the aspiration of improving curricular, pedagogical and leadership practices within higher education. Ms. Nelson is a Robert Wood Johnson Ladder to Leadership Fellow. For her work in successfully reducing the rate of teen dating violence in New Mexico, Ms. Nelson was the recipient of the 2011 Patty Jennings and Polly Arango Citizen Advocacy Award. For her work in promoting social justice and equity in education, Ms. Nelson is the recipient of the New Mexico Education Equity Alliance (NMEEA) 2013 Annual Fueling Increasingly Relevant Education (F.I.R.E) Award and the YWCA-NM Women on the Move to Eliminate Racism Award in 2015.