Maria Melendrez

Maria Melendrez serves as the Assistant Director for the Office of International Programs and Partnerships (IPP) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Maria’s duties include coordinating memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with partner institutions and managing all logistics for incoming delegation requests and visits. Additionally, she oversees the project management of various systems and programs, focusing on researching, planning, prioritizing, tracking, executing, and evaluating new initiatives to achieve specific project goals and objectives. 

As a Latina immigrant and an Undocu-Educator, she is deeply committed to promoting higher education access and success for first-generation, low-income students, and students with disabilities. Her goal is to make global learning accessible to all. Maria joined LMU in 2018, bringing with her over six years of experience in various higher education roles, including undergraduate admissions, academic affairs, and student affairs. She holds a BA in Sociology from Pitzer College and an MA in Higher Education/Student Affairs from Claremont Graduate University, where she also earned an "Allies of Dreamers" certificate. As a 2023-24 NAFSA RISE Fellow and an incoming first-year Ph.D. student at Stanford Graduate School of Education, Maria is furthering her commitment to advancing educational access and equity.