Dr. La’Tonya Rease Miles (second to the right) is the Founder and Chief Strategist of First Gen and Juice. She also started and manages the dynamic Facebook group Empowering First-Generation College Students and is a co-founder of The Black First-Gen Collective. LT established two successful programs for first-generation college students. One at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the other at Loyola Marymount University. The programs are national Best Practices models, transforming the two universities into First-Gen Forward institutions. 

La’ Tonya is a trusted national expert on all things related to first-generation students. She advises higher education institutions around the nation as well as local high schools about first-gen students, new to college students, and students of color, assisting them in developing student-centered resources and programs. She earned a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. her research interests include the hidden curriculum in higher education, narratives about the first-generation college experience, and the representation of first-generation students in popular culture. Her most recent publication explores the positive relationships between campus service workers and first-generation students.

Click here to get connected with LT.

What She’s Rockin’!

Black First-Generation Women History Makers Tee