Student Relations Liaison

Patty Santillanes-Soto currently works as the Program Director for TRIO Student Support Services at the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus. Patty is an ASU alum, having graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work degrees. Patty’s experience as a first generation, low income transfer student from South Phoenix furthered her interest in supporting underrepresented students with similar backgrounds in obtaining a post-secondary education. After working in the child welfare field post graduation, Patty was able to make a career shift and work with TRIO Student Support Services as a Program Coordinator at the Polytechnic campus, then moving to the Tempe Campus, and now recently as the Program Director at the Downtown Phoenix Campus. Additionally, Patty is also a Practicum Supervisor with the ASU School of Social Work and supervises bachelor’s level social work students in obtaining internship hours while also providing a space that permits testing theory in practice to assist students’ academic and professional development. 

Outside of ASU, Patty serves as the Secretary for the Arizona Chapter of the Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel (WESTOP) organization, where she works with other educational equity professionals across Arizona in supporting underserved students to obtain a post-secondary education.