Department of Education

Hometown: Queens, New York

Education: B.A. Education Studies and B.A. Psychology from Brown University, class of 2025

Natalie Villacres is a graduate student at Brown University pursuing her master's degree in Urban Education Policy. A recent graduate from Brown's Undergraduate College, Natalie completed her Bachelor's of Arts in Education Studies and Psychology in May 2025, graduating Magna Cum Laude as a newly inducted member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Now beginning her 5th and final year at Brown as a master's student, Natalie intends to apply to law school during the 2026-27 admissions cycle, where she hopes to further explore the intersections of education law, civil rights, and policy reform from a legal perspective. Drawing from her experiences as a first-generation, low-income student from Queens, Natalie has dedicated her professional pursuits to the legal field throughout her time in college. Natalie has interned at several law offices and organizations centered on empowering marginalized communities, including the Rhode Island Center for Justice and Legal Hand of New York City. Spending her 6th semester abroad, Natalie also studied the origins of American and British law at Queen Mary University, interning with a criminal defense attorney office located in the heart of London. Natalie was and continues to be heavily involved in Brown's Undocumented, First-Generation, Low-Income (UFLi) student community, navigating higher education as both a QuestBridge and Bill and Melinda Gates scholar herself. Holding numerous leadership positions as an undergraduate, Natalie served as president of her school's QuestBridge Chapter, as well as president of Brown's Class Coordinating Board (student government) and secretary of La Alianza Latine Pre-Law Association. Natalie currently spends her free time as a violinist and band manager for Mariachi Ositos de Brown, Rhode Island's only Mariachi band.