Ireri Rivas Mier y Teran

Program Officer Ireri Rivas Mier y Teran oversees a portfolio of grants focusing on supporting and addressing basic needs for postsecondary students from underserved backgrounds. Ireri is responsible for developing and executing a grantmaking and field-building strategy that advances ECMC Foundation’s mission and North Star goal related to postsecondary learners of all walks of life facing basic needs insecurity.

Prior to joining ECMC Foundation, Ireri held various roles in higher education including at TheDream.US, a national scholarship provider for undocumented college students, where she managed the student success initiatives for more than 3,000 scholars at more than 70 partner colleges; and at the University of Chicago, where she advanced the success and persistence of undocumented, first-generation, lower-income, immigrant students and students of color at the undergraduate and graduate level. Ireri began her career as a community organizer where she supported the advancement of social, economic and environmental justice efforts, which included efforts to secure higher education access to immigrant learners. This led to a rich career in higher education where she developed expertise in working with students to advance their empowerment and working with institutions to improve policies, practices and protocols that advance college success and remove barriers for historically underrepresented students.

Ireri holds a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago with a focus on comparative literature and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nevada, Reno with an English literature major and a minor in art history.

Why are you working at ECMC Foundation and committed to working toward improving higher education for underserved learners?

Higher education is an important tool to advance social mobility. As a first-generation immigrant and college graduate, I understand how essential it is to give strategically underserved communities access to as many resources as possible to close achievement gaps.