UMass Boston

Biography

Alexandra is a proud third-generation educator who loves supporting and building community with teachers. For many years, Alexandra worked for Chicago Public Schools as a special education teacher, case manager, and teacher coach at an elementary school. She attributes her success in the classroom to her ability to build positive and lasting relationships with students and their families. She also worked for the district as a Teacher Ambassador. In this role, she worked on recruitment and commercial campaigns to recruit and retain teachers in hard-to-staff schools in Chicago’s most underserved communities. All of these roles led her to discover her passion for equity within special education and teacher hiring practices. 

Alexandra’s research interests include understanding the professional and socio-emotional lives of Black teachers to improve Black teacher attrition and implement culturally informed teacher strategies that consequently ensure teachers have lasting and meaningful careers. 

Prior to joining the faculty at University of Massachusetts Boston, Dr. Richmond earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, her M.S. in Special Education from Purdue University, and her B.A. in English Education from Clark Atlanta University.