Organizational Committee


Allison

Allison Bradford is a doctoral candidate in the Learning Sciences and Human Development Cluster within the School of Education. She received her BS in Physics from the University of Maryland, and was a high school math and science teacher before attending graduate school. She currently engages in design-based research in partnership with teachers from several Bay Area school districts. Her current research is centered on designing technologies that support teacher customization of science curriculum in response to their students’ ideas and learning needs. Her studies focus on teacher customization, both as it occurs in-the-moment as teachers review learning analytics and during summer professional development workshops designed to guide teacher refinement of the curriculum.


Corrine pic

Corrine Aramburo is a seventh year student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education. Her research interests include special education teacher preparation; administrative leadership, and educational policy. She completed her BA in English and History Education at Brigham Young University and a MA in Extensive Support Needs Special Education at San Francisco State University.


photo of Astha Agarwal

Astha Agarwal is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program at Berkeley School of Education and a Graduate Student Researcher for the California Child Welfare Indicators Project and Transition-Age Youth Research Hub. Astha is also a member of the Berkeley Hope Scholars community of former foster youth on campus. Astha’s research interests include pathways to higher education for youth impacted by the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, as well as risk and resilience among systems-impacted youth. Astha earned her BA in Psychology and Economics from McGill University and her MA in Education from UC Berkeley.


photo of Mai Xi Lee

Mai Xi Lee is the Social Emotional Learning Director at the Sacramento County Office of Education. She is a veteran educator who has served the Sacramento region for 25 years as a bilingual paraprofessional, teacher, counselor, school administrator and district administrator. Along with her work leading districtwide SEL in Sacramento City Unified School District, Ms. Lee was a contributing leader for the groundbreaking Collaborating Districts Initiative with the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and California’s Transformative SEL Skills & Conditions Workgroup. Ms. Lee believes that transforming school systems requires the active and intentional through-line of SEL & Transformative SEL from the boardroom to the classroom. Ms. Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University, Master of Arts in School Counseling, Pupil Personnel Services Credential  and Administrative Services Credential from California State University, Sacramento.   She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in the Leaders for Equity and Democracy program at the University of California, Berkeley. 


Nicole Cedillo is a first year student in the Ph.D. Education program in the Critical Studies: Race, Class, Gender cluster. Her research interests include bi/multilingual learners, teacher professional development, and English language development. She completed her BA in Feminist Studies and History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, an MA in History at Tufts University, and a single subject teaching credential in English from Reach University. 


Paj Hnub Vwj or Pa N. Vue is a fourth year PhD student in the School of Education at UC Berkeley. Her research interests are in Hmong language reclamation, literacy practices, and indigenous knowledge production. She explores connections between literacy, language, and creativity, broadly conceived, and works toward engaging the Hmong community in creating alternative vitalities (new domains of language use) that can support Hmong language revalorization. 


Francis Rojas serves as the Founding Principal of Emerald High School in Dublin, California – the newest comprehensive high school in Alameda County in over 50 years. Over the last 20 years, he has been an educator at the two largest high schools in the Bay Area – James Logan High School in Union City (2002-2017) and Milpitas High School in Milpitas (2017-2022), and served in various roles from science teacher, student activities director, vice principal, and principal. Francis is a two-time graduate of UC Berkeley (MA Educational Leadership – Principal Leadership Institute, 2010; BA Integrative Biology, 2001) and currently is pursuing his doctorate degree in the School of Education’s Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) EdD program. His research focuses on the impact of extracurricular high school activities on diverse communities, including LGBTQ+, ethnic and religious minoritized, undocumented, and neuro-diverse students, and the need for culturally responsive, critical school leaders who can disrupt the perpetuation of systemic oppression and marginalization by these extracurricular programs and the traditions they hold.