Riley Ceperich
Biography
Riley is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at UCLA who broadly studies gender, race, intersectionality and education. Her dissertation explores the ways LA stand-up comedians attempt to project authenticity in their comedy sets through their portrayals of gender, race, and intersectionality. She is also involved in education projects that explore the efficacy of research practice practice partnerships and professional learning, as well as projects that examine the ways education leaders think about race, gender, and intersectionality. Riley is also collaborating on an experimental survey project that explores the effect of time commitments and race on the motherhood wage penalty.
Degrees
B.A. in Sociology and Economics, Northwestern University (2020)
M.A. in Sociology, UCLA (2023)
Publications
Ceperich, Riley, Annie Allen, Trang Tran, Yamileth Salinas Del val, William Penuel, Sarah Leonhart, and Kristen Davidson. “How Educational Leaders Think About Intersections of Identities and Disciplinary Learning in Science ” Accepted with revisions at School Science and Mathematics. Forthcoming.
Farrell, Caitlin, Lok-sze Wong, Jen Cowhy, Riley Ceperich, Cynthia Coburn, Megan Hopkins, Abby Beneke “Measuring Organizational Learning Outcomes through Big Ideas (MOBI)” Accepted at American Educational Research Journal. Forthcoming, Fall 2025.
Ceperich, Riley. Designing Equity: Stakeholders Perceptions of an Equity Initiative in a California School District. Northwestern Undergraduate Research Journal. 2021 June.
Coburn, Cynthia, Jame Spillane, Angel Bohannon, Annie Allen, Riley Ceperich, Abby Beneke, Lok-sze Wong. The Role of Organizational Routines in Research Use in Four Large Urban School Districts (Technical Report No. 5). National Center for Research in Policy and Practice. 2020 December.
Awards & Grants
Excellence in Teaching Award, UCLA (2023)
Graduate Research Mentorship Fellowship, UCLA (2023-24 school year)
Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Fellowship, UCLA (2023)
Best Thesis Award, Northwestern University Dept. of Sociology (2020)
Conference Presentations
Cho, Ahyeon, Riley Ceperich, Strapped for Time? Time Commitments and the Motherhood Penalty. American Sociological Association; 2025 August.
Ceperich, Riley, Privileged Humor: Producing Gender and Race Privilege Through Stand-up Comedy. American Sociological Association; 2025 August.
Ceperich, Riley, Privileged Humor: Producing Gender and Race Privilege Through Stand-up Comedy. Critical Humor Studies Association; 2025 April.
Ceperich, Riley, Proxy Boundaries and Homegrown Advantage in High School. American Sociological Association; 2023 August.
Ceperich, Riley, Trang Tran, Yamileth Salinas Del val, Kristen Davidson. Science Education Leaders Sense-making and Noticing for Equity. NARST; 2022 March.
Farrell, Caitlin, Ayesha Hashim, Lindsey Kaiser, Riley Ceperich. The Demands of Equity-Centered Principal Pipelines and the Role for Research-Practice Partnerships. AERA; 2022 April.
Bohannon, Angel, Cynthia Coburn, James Spillane, Riley Ceperich. Research at the Junctures: Investigating How Routines Shape Research Use in District Leader Decision Making. AERA; 2021 April.
Farrell, Caitlin Lok-sze Wong, Megan Hopkins, Jen Cowhy, Riley Ceperich, Abby Beneke, Nina Wetoska. What District Conditions Matter for Productive Partnering? AERA; 2021 April.
Ceperich, Riley. Creating Equity: Stakeholder Perceptions of an Equity Initiative in a California School District. Northwestern Undergraduate Research and Arts Expo; 2020 May.
