EPP Staff

Dr. Theresa W. Tobin is the Faculty Director of the Education Preparedness Program (EPP) at the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach and Associate Professor of Philosophy. She is also the Associate Dean for Student Development at Marquette University. Theresa's academic research focuses on contemporary ethics with a special focus on ethical questions that arise at the intersections of gender, sexuality, religion and culture. She has written articles on themes related to gender, moral trust, and the nature and moral significance of spiritual violence for Hypatia, Metaphilosophy, Social Theory and Practice, and Human Rights Review.

Alex Gambacorta

EPP Program Manager

Alexandra Gambacorta is the Program Manager for the Education Preparedness Program (EPP) at the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach. In this role, she conducts the day-to-day logistics and operations of the program including scheduling classes, coordinating students, and working closely with program collaborators. She earned an MA in English from Marquette University with a research focus on decolonizing archives and archival accessibility. Her graduate and ongoing concentration outside of EPP work is creating ways to make archival collections more accessible to Tribal Nations, particularly the Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission archive collection (the largest collection of Catholic Native American Mission and Boarding School records in the country) held in Marquette University’s special collections. Additionally, Alex is a co-instructor for a variety of EPP courses and helps lead the Think Tanks on Reentry and Philosophy inside Racine Correctional Institution. She is a trained facilitator for Narrative 4, an organization that uses a story exchange model to cultivate radical empathy while empowering students to improve their communities and the world. 

Cherita Rayford

EPP Peer Support and Reentry Coordinator

Cherita Rayford is the Peer Support and Reentry Coordinator for the Education Preparedness Program (EPP) and the McNeely Prison Education Consortium (MPEC) at the Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach (CURTO). In her role, Cherita provides mentoring and emotional support to EPP students, guiding them through their academic journey. She also works closely with students impacted by the legal system, offering recruitment and retention support while helping them navigate the admissions process and access community resources.

Cherita is deeply passionate about higher education within both institutional and prison reform contexts. With a bachelor's degree in Community Engagement and Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), she is committed to creating opportunities for individuals who face barriers to education, advocating for transformative change in higher education access and justice reform.