Education
PhD, Graduate Center - City University of New York
MPA, John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York
MA, City College of New York - City University of New York
BA, Herbert Lehman College - City University of New York
Bio
Virginia Diaz-Mendoza is part of the Counseling Faculty in the Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge - SEEK Department. SEEK is a civil rights policy initiative created to increase access to higher education and promote social mobility for NYC high school graduates. At John Jay College, SEEK is an academic department that offers credit bearing Education and Justice courses where students have an opportunity to closely interrogate public education systems in the United States as they reflect on issues of educational inequity and racial injustice.
Virginia is a licensed mental health counselor and her research interests include the implementation of restorative justice as an alternative to punitive discipline, evidence-based student leadership development, and culturally relevant institutional effectiveness. Some of her professional interests include humanizing pedagogy, creating healing centered curriculum, and using restorative practices to promote individual and collective wellbeing. Most recently, Virginia served as a Fulbright Specialist in Ecuador where she trained over one hundred educators on the use of restorative dialogue circles to promote mental health and wellbeing.
Courses Taught
EDU100 – Introduction to Education and Justice
EDU277 - Education and Justice Experiential Learning
EDU280 – Special Topics in Education and Justice: Harm & Healing in Schools
EDU289 – Independent Study in Education and Justice: Humanizing Educational Research
EDU289 – Independent Study in Education and Justice: Educational Technology and Belonging
HUM300 – Landmark Supreme Court Cases: Perspectives on Corporal Punishment
Languages
Scholarly Work
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2026). Radical love: Transforming curriculum, pedagogy, and practice at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.
Diaz-Mendoza, V., & King-Toler, V. (2025). (Re)membering Together: The possibilities of liberatory culturally relevant education. The Chronicle for Mentoring & Coaching.
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2024). Creative envisioning: A spiritual practice that promotes healing, personal growth, and professional development in M. Chatman, L. Costa, & D. Robinson-Morris (Eds). Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education: Narratives Toward Wholeness. Routledge.
Molina Zamora, G., Andrade, G., & Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2024). Expanding opportunities for Latina college students: Faculty mentored research at a Hispanic Serving Institution. The Chronicle of Mentoring & Coaching.
Diaz-Mendoza, V., & King-Toler, V. (2024). Life-giving sisterhood: Reciprocal mentoring for women of color in academia. The Chronicle for Mentoring & Coaching.
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2023). Developing highly effective student leaders: A strengths-based framework for high achieving economically challenged urban undergraduates. About Campus.
Son, M., Diaz-Mendoza, V., Alford, S., King-Toler, E., Cuesta, G., & Hayman, L. (2022). Echoing: A practice of liberation through transformative education. Journal of Contemplative Inquiry.
Dualeh, D., Diaz-Mendoza, V., Son, M., & Luperon, C. (2018). The implementation of P.O.W.E.R (Pushing Our Will to Experience Resilience): An intervention to address retention and graduation rates among men of color. Journal of College and Character.
Honors and Awards
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2025). Implementation of Restorative Practices to Enhance the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Educators in Ecuador. World Learning - Fulbright Specialist Program - September 2025 - June 2026.
Diaz-Mendoza, V., Robinson, R., & King-Toler, E. (2022). Honoring the SEEK Legacy: Moving from Theory to Transformative Practice. Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI) – The City University of New York.
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2022). Creating Opportunities for Students at the Margins: Faculty Mentored Research about Peer Mentoring. PSC-CUNY Traditional B Grant.
Diaz-Mendoza, V. (2021-2022). Transformative Learning in the Humanities at the City University of New York – Faculty Fellow. Funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Cuesta, G., Diaz-Mendoza, V. & Son, M. (2019). Moving Towards an Embodied Knowledge of Justice in General Education: Praxis in the Education and Justice 100 Level Course. Minding the Gap Program Improvement Grant. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NY.