Featured Keynote Speaker
Keynote Speaker for Ad Astra Conference
Dr. La'Tonya Rease Miles
La'Tonya "LT" Rease Miles, Ph.D., is the director of university partnerships at ReUp Education.
A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Miles has established two successful programs for first-generation college students—one at UCLA and the other at Loyola Marymount University—both recognized as First-gen Forward institutions. She regularly consults with institutions nationally concerning first-gen students and also has advised local high schools about developing programs on their campus. Finally, she established and manages a national Facebook group, "Empowering First Generation Students" and is the Chief Strategist for the "First Gen & Juice" brand.
Prior to this position, LT was dean of student affairs at Menlo College, a four-year private liberal arts institution in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her portfolio included: Housing and Residential Life, Student Activities (including student government, leadership, clubs, and major campus events such as student orientation), Judicial Affairs, Mental Health Services, and First-Year Experience. She also served as the Director of the Academic Resource Center at Loyola Marymount University where she spearheaded campus-wide initiatives that addressed student food insecurity and worked closely with the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education to establish travel abroad pathways for students of color and first-generation college students.
She earned a Ph.D. in American literature from UCLA, and her research interests include the hidden curriculum in higher education, narratives about the first-generation college experience, and the relationship of physical space and college student engagement. Further, LT is passionate about NBA basketball, college football, "The Flash" and “Friday Night Lights."