Passionate about making social science relatable to real-time political events, Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is an analyst, academic, and social scientist with expertise in campaigns and elections, immigration, Latinos, women, racial and ethnic minority politics, and political psychology. A contributor to MSNBC and Telemundo, she is currently the Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas – working with university leadership to cultivate and expand diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Victoria brings an interdisciplinary lens to understanding policy development and its intersection with institutional and political contexts. Applying high-quality social science research to on-the-ground political realities, she provides a unique, outside-the-Beltway view to today’s real-world issues. Using her nuanced understanding of key electorates – including women, Latino, and youth demographics – she thoughtfully unpacks the factors shaping the political landscape and expertly analyzes the state of the nation’s politics and elections.
For close to a decade, Victoria has been a contributor to MSNBC and NBCNews.com, as well as Telemundo. Translating social science research into more relatable information for a wide variety of audiences, Victoria has previously provided on-air analysis for CNN, Fox, PBS, Univision, NPR, and has appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. She is also published in both academic and popular outlets such as The Hill, POLITICO, and Talking Points Memo.
Previously, Victoria served as Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs. In this role, she led a portfolio to build out civic life on and off campus with programs such as the LBJ Women’s Campaign School and the LBJ Civic Engagement Certificate program. She was selected as one of the University’s Game Changing faculty and oversaw the cultivation of a space that intentionally bridges communities and further integrates the policy world with the classroom. Victoria also served on the executive committee of the University of Texas’ Center for Mexican American Studies and chaired the campus climate committee for the Provost’s Council on LGBTQ+AEI.
Named one of the top 12 scholars in the country by Diverse magazine, Victoria previously taught at Northwestern University and Rutgers and received her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, where she was a National Science Foundation fellow. A native of Southern Arizona, Victoria is of Italian-Jewish-Mexican heritage and lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and their children.