Expertise
Special Education Physical Therapy
Research Interests
- Teacher diversity and preparation
- Culturally responsive and inclusive teaching
- Educational policy and systemic inequality
Education
- Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) - Northeastern University
- Master of Arts (M.A.), English - Middlebury College
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Rehabilitation Sciences - Northeastern University
Biosketch
Marianela Rivera is a physical therapist and has focused the majority of her career on serving students receiving special education services. Her experiences while working for Lawrence Public Schools revealed systemic issues impacting her students and their families, which motivated her to run and win a last-minute write-in campaign for the Lawrence School Committee in 2015. Rivera’s efforts helped organize parents, teachers, students, activists, and concerned citizens to propel public education forward with the Fund Our Future campaign that led to the passing of the Student Opportunity Act. Rivera was a Table Coordinator of the Greater Lawrence Education Justice Alliance and led a campaign for educational justice in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Her educational justice work led her to becoming the first executive director of Fortaleza, a Latino educational advocacy organization in Lowell, and to her current role as Director of the Paraprofessional Pathway at the School of Education at UMass Lowell.
Selected Awards and Honors
- 2026 Recipient of the Louise Gaskins Lifetime Civil Rights Award presented by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) Human Relations Committee
Selected Publications
- Infante, K., Rivera, M. (2024). Cultivating Democratic Learning Spaces: A Framework for Transformational Civics by HomePlace Collective. In: Nathan, L.F., Mendonca, J.F., Rojas Ayala, G. (eds) Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-46297-9_3
Selected Presentations
- How State Takeovers of Schools are Disenfranchising Poor Black and Brown Communities” 018 NASPA New England Latinx Student Leadership Conference at Fairfield University