Madison365’s 2023 list of “Wisconsin’s 40 Most Influential Asian American Leaders” highlights two people with ties to the UW–Madison School of Education.
Madison365, a nonprofit online news publication, has published annual power lists recognizing Wisconsin leaders from different racial and ethnic groups since 2015. The purpose of the lists is to “highlight the beauty of the diversity across our state,” according to Henry Sanders Jr., the co-founder, publisher, and chief executive officer of Madison365.
Ten of the 40 Asian American leaders named this year are Badgers, including Tony DelaRosa and Ruttanatip (Dang) Chonwerawong who have ties to the School of Education.
DelaRosa is currently pursuing a PhD in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA). Chonwerawong earned her PhD from ELPA in 2006, and is a former assistant dean for Student Diversity Programs in the School of Education.
According to the Madison365 report:
Tony DelaRosa is an award-winning Filipino American anti-bias and anti-racist educator, motivational speaker, spoken word poet, racial equity strategist, and researcher. He holds a BA in Asian studies from the University of Cincinnati, an M.Ed with a focus on arts education and nonprofit management from Harvard University, and is currently pursuing his PhD from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW–Madison as an Education Graduate Research Scholar. He received the 2021 INSPIRE Award from the National Association of Asian American Professionals, and the 2023 Community Trailblazer Award from The Asian American Foundation, where he was featured on the special Heritage Heroes airing now on Hulu. His work has been featured in NPR, Harvard Ed Magazine, the Smithsonian, Columbia University’s Hechinger Report, Hyphen Magazine: Asian American Unabridged, and elsewhere. He has co-founded New York City’s first Asian American teacher support, development, and retention initiative called AATEND under NYC Men Teach, the NYC DOE, and Office of the Mayor. He served as a director of leadership development at Teach for America, coaching teachers and leading racial equity strategy. Today, he coaches CEOs and principals on crafting and refining their short-term and long-term racial equity strategy. Lastly, he is writing a book with Jossey-Bass Publishing (WILEY) called “Teaching the Invisible Race,” which will provide practical ways on embodying a pro-Asian American lens, while combating anti-Asian American violence, racism, and hate for PK-12 educators.
Ruttanatip (Dang) Chonwerawong is a senior consultant at Arredondo Advisory Group, a DEI consultancy. She focuses on access to higher education for students from low-income families, first generation college students, and — most importantly — students who are historically underrepresented in American higher education settings. She has more than 25 years of experience as a higher education practitioner and senior administrator, much of it at the University of Wisconsin, where she led TRIO Student Support Services for 14 years before becoming an assistant dean for Student Diversity Programs in the School of Education. In that role, she oversaw multiple programs ranging from pre-college to graduate levels. She previously served as associate vice president for Student Academic Support Services at California State San Marcos, special assistant to the president of the University of Wisconsin System, dean for student development at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, and associate vice president for student success at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She received her undergraduate degree in teaching English as a second language from Chiang Mai University, Thailand; master’s degree in adult education from University of Wisconsin–Platteville; and a master’s degree in educational administration and a PhD from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW–Madison.
Learn more about “Wisconsin’s 40 Most Influential Asian American Leaders” including all of the featured UW–Madison faculty, staff, and alumni.