He earned his Ph.D. in English from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His ethnographic research examines how literacy and bilingual mentorship affect school involvement among Latin American immigrant families in New York City and Kentucky. Dr. Alvarez has a decade of experiencing teaching writing to students ranging from kindergarten through college in communities across the country and more recently in China and Mexico. He is currently serving as co-chair of the Latino Caucus of NCTE/CCCC.