Mike Hoa Nguyen, PhD is assistant professor of education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His research and teaching critically examines the benefits and consequences of racialized public policy instruments in expanding and/or constraining educational systems, with a specific focus on how these dynamics shape access, learning, opportunity, and success within and beyond schools for students of color. Dr. Nguyen is deeply committed to applying his research to inform and advance public policy and institutional practice, and relies on his extensive professional experience in federal government, having served as a senior staff member in the United States Congress. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and continues to volunteer and provide research consulting for education and civil rights organizations. Most recently, he was one of the lead authors of amicus curiae briefs on behalf of social scientists in SFFA v. Harvard, which was discussed during oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court and cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in their opinion to uphold affirmative action. Prior to NYU, he was an assistant professor at the University of Denver and was appointed by the Governor of Colorado to the History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government in Education Commission and by the Mayor of Denver to the Denver Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and his graduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles.