Fernanda Escobar is a research associate at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy and a doctoral candidate at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Her work at the Lurie Institute centers on the intersection of disability policy with race and ethnicity—particularly within Latino communities—employing qualitative research methods. Her doctoral research explores U.S. immigration policy and the lived experiences of immigrant children and families. Fernanda holds a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in poverty alleviation from the Heller School. Before beginning her doctoral studies, she served as a research associate at the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity, where she conducted quantitative analyses of national datasets to examine how public policy influences the racial wealth gap, intergenerational mobility, poverty, and equitable access to opportunity. Her work is driven by a strong commitment to advancing equity through inclusive, evidence-based policies that are grounded in the lived experiences of historically underrepresented communities.