Mayra Olivares-Urueta

Faculty, Counseling and Higher Education

Executive in Residence, Higher Education

Matthews Hall 207-C

Dr. Mayra Olivares-Urueta is a nationally recognized higher education leader, scholar, and advocate with a deep passion for advancing community colleges. At the University of North Texas, she serves as full-time faculty, leading the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program in Higher Education. In this role, she advises doctoral students, chairs dissertation committees, and guides research that informs the practice of higher education leadership. She is currently Co-Principal Investigator for the Data-to-Action for Parenting Students Grant (D2A TX), a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board initiative designed to improve outcomes for parenting students across the state. She also serves on the National Conference Committee for the 2027 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), helping to shape the future of the field.

Mayra’s professional trajectory has spanned diverse institutional types—including a state flagship university, a medical center, and her heart’s work: community colleges. She has served in roles advancing student life, academic integrity, health services, and inclusion and belonging initiatives, while also overseeing federally funded TRiO programs. She previously served as registrar and led enrollment management initiatives in recruitment, dual credit, and early college high school, culminating in her appointment as Vice President for Student Development Services at Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus.

Her scholarship includes publications, book chapters, and national presentations on student success, community college leadership, institutional transformation, and culturally responsive practices in higher education. Her work has appeared in venues such as the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, and through presentations at NASPA, AACC, and TACHE. She is committed to bridging research and practice to amplify the voices and lived experiences of community college students and leaders.

Her leadership has been recognized nationally: she was a Fellow of the Aspen Institute Rising Presidents Program (2020), a National Community College Hispanic Council Fellow (2015), and a recipient of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges’ 40 Under 40 Award (2018). She also served as President of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE), as an institutional coach with The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, and as Faculty-in-Residence with NASPA’s Community Colleges Division. She served as Chair of the 2025 NASPA Community Colleges Institute, shaping national dialogue around the future of the sector.

Beyond her formal roles, Mayra has contributed to educational and civic service through the Arlington ISD Family Engagement Committee, the advisory board for Townview School for the Health Professions (Dallas ISD), and the Bellwether College Consortium, among others.

Her story is both personal and professional: the proud daughter of Rosario, an immigrant mother and community college student, Mayra is herself a first-generation English Language Learner who persevered through developmental education. Defying statistics, she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in European Studies and Spanish with a French minor, followed by a master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. In 2013, she completed her Ph.D. in Higher Education at the University of North Texas.

Outside of her professional life, Mayra enjoys strength training, traveling with her family, and attending live concerts (especially The Killers). She is a proud mom, a lover of bold glasses and funky accessories, and never misses an opportunity to cheer on her daughters’ creativity and curiosity. She also has a cavapoo named Luna, who is her loyal shadow and window-watching companion. At the heart of it all, she is supported by an amazing partner, and her work is fueled in part by the future she is building for her children—and for all the students and families coming down the line.

Today, Dr. Olivares-Urueta continues to build on her lived experience, scholarship, and leadership to strengthen higher education systems and expand opportunities for the students who need them most.