Alex Espaillat
she/her/ella
Alex Espaillat
Assistant DirectorAlex joined Duke in June 2022 and currently serves as an Assistant Director in the CMA. In their current role, Alex’s work focuses on the Latinx/o/é communities at Duke, providing programs and services in the areas of community engagement, multicultural education, social justice education, and leadership development. In addition to this, Alex leads and is responsible for the majority of the marketing and communications functions of the Center as well as encouraging coalition building resources.
Alex is a Latina scholar practitioner who claims both Charlotte, North Carolina and New York as home. She is a two-time alumna of Appalachian State University, holding a B.A. in Political Science (2017) and an M.A. in Student Affairs Administration (2020). In her previous work experience, she has had the opportunity to work at institutions such as Davidson College, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of South Florida (USF).
At the core of Alex’s work, she is deeply committed to social justice and holistic wellness for students during their journeys through higher education. Her passion for leadership development and community care in action heavily influences her work with students. Whether this extends to advising student organizations or supporting students in a 1-on-1 environment, she is emboldened by the potential to create empowering environments in which students can cultivate their own freedoms and, passions, and identity. This include re-evaluating the various systems we as a society participate in and how responsible unlearning and dismantling can occur.
Some of Alex’s favorite activities include learning about new places through food, watching anime or other fun shows/movies, creating art, and spending time with her partner, two cats and dog, Honey.