Allegra Villarreal is an Associate Director at NCTR. She joined the staff in 2021. In her role, she supports residencies in NCTR’s Network. She was most recently the Director of Professional Development at Catch the Next, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the college graduation rates of Latinx students through a framework combining academic instruction, community mentorship, and holistic advising. She also taught composition and literature for 12 years at five colleges and most recently served as an Associate Professor of English at Austin Community College. She earned a joint honours undergraduate degree in International Relations and Middle East Studies from St. Andrews University in Scotland as well as a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Oxford University.