Dr. Iliana Alanís, a native of South Texas, holds the position of Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas, Austin, specializing in Multilingual Studies and Educational Psychology. As a university faculty member, her primary focus is on engaging teacher candidates and practicing teachers in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, emphasizing the rights of young children to develop their native language and cultural identity.

Dr. Alanís adopts a sociocultural lens in her research, examining effective pedagogical practices in early childhood within dual language contexts. Her extensive body of work includes over 50 refereed publications, such as “Translingual Partners in Early Childhood Elementary Education: Pedagogies on Linguistic and Cognitive Engagement” published by Peter Lang Publishers, New York, NY, and “Supporting Dual Language Learners in Diverse Environments in Preschool & Kindergarten” published by NAEYC in Washington, DC.

Before entering academia, Dr. Alanís was a bilingual teacher for second-grade students in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. For more than two decades, she has facilitated professional development for early childhood educators in dual language settings as a Dual Language Training Institute member and a founding member of the Vales Por Dos Consulting Group. Furthermore, she has held leadership positions, including the Texas Association for Bilingual Education (TABE) presidency and National Latino Children’s Institute board member. Recently, she concluded her five-year elected service as a Governing Board Member for the National Association for Early Childhood Education (NAEYC).

Outside of her professional endeavors, Dr. Alanís is married to Bradley York, and together, they reside in San Antonio, Texas, with their son, Diego, and their three dogs: Roxy, Lucy, and Lali.