Dr. Olga DeJesus-Diaz has been an educator in P-16 for over 20 years with expertise in special education, bilingual education, language acquisition, and teacher preparation in higher education. From Mercy College, she holds two master's degrees, one in Elementary Education and another in School Administration. Also, a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. Dr. DeJesus-Diaz is an associate professor and assistant dean of teacher education at Marist College.

Her professional expertise extends from her teaching, scholarship and service in education.  She taught as a bilingual special education teacher in P-12, as an associate professor in teacher preparation programs, worked at NYSED as an associate advocating for ELLs with disabilities, and held several leadership roles in higher education. In her scholarship, Dr. DeJesus-Diaz shares her work and expertise nationally and internationally. In 2017, as a Fulbright Scholar, she provided professional development to faculty and teaching candidates at the University of Vienna. This was under the theme “Empowering the Diverse Learner through Digital Storytelling”. Dr. DeJesus-Diaz has published several articles in peer reviewed professional journals and a book titled “International Undergraduate English Language Learner’s Perception of Distance Learning”.

When it comes to serving in the field, Dr. DeJesus-Diaz has served as an expert for the U.S. Department of Education in initiatives to develop alternative assessment for English language learners, member of the Women’s Leadership Council at Touro University, VP of Conference for the NYSTESOL organization (2022-23), NYS CEEDAR Taskforce member, Bilingual Curriculum Design Taskforce with USPREP and is an AAQEP quality assurance reviewer of teacher education programs in higher education.