Cohort 6 | Class of 2022
Gigi Carunungan
- Hometown: Silicon Valley
- Undergraduate: BA in Philippine Studies, University of the Philippines
- Graduate: MA in Curriculum and Instruction, New Mexico Highlands University
- Research Interests: My focus will be on curricular strategies. Specifically, innovating elementary school math to include higher-order thinking skills, socially-interactive lesson activities, community, and integrating fun in learning.
- Personal Interests: I take a keen interest in moving away from linear, memorization, and test-driven learning and infusing creativity in math solutions with integrative, dynamic, multimodal, deep-dive, play, socially-interactive, context, gamification, and story-based curricular strategies. I'm also interested in taking-off from neuroscience and innovating learning strategies anchored to the physical processes of the human brain.
Janet Gutierrez
- Hometown: San Jose, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Human Communication, with a concentration on Chicano Studies, CSU Monterey Bay
- Graduate: MA in Administration and Supervision, San Jose State University
- Research Interests:
- Bilingual Education
- Latinas in leadership
- Service learning and project-based learning for elementary schools versus high stakes testing, culturally proficient curriculum
- Personal Interests: Running, hiking, watching college basketball, swimming, reading, playing and taking adventures with my family, listening to Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations.
Vladimir G. Ivanović
- Hometown: New York, New York
- Undergraduate: BS in Computer Science, Union College
- Graduate: MS in Electrical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Research Interests:
- Educational public policy
- Activism
- Inequality
- Equity
- Full and fair funding
- Personal Interests: Outdoor activities: sailing, climbing, hiking, scuba diving, mountaineering, swimming, skiing.
Amna Jaffer
- Hometown: Fremont, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Psychology and Theatre, Agnes Scott College
- Graduate: MA in Educational Counseling and Student Personnel, San Jose State University
- Research Interests:
- Social Emotional Counseling
- Preparation of school counselors as agents of social justice
- Substance use education and prevention in K-16
- Influencing policy to decrease ratio of K-12 school counselors to students
- Personal Interests: Hiking, visiting national parks, travel, reading, gardening, and music.
Yolanda K. Jimenez
- Hometown: Sacramento, California
- Undergraduate: BA in English, CSU Sacramento
- Graduate: MA Education/Administration and Supervision, San Jose State University
- Research Interests:
- Recruiting and retaining teachers of color
- Culturally relevant pedagogy,
- English learner engagement in content area classrooms
- Personal Interests: Raising a family, leading Girl Scouts, volunteering with Lions Club, homesteading, creating custom clothing and home decor, attending live performances, and cheering on the local youth sporting teams.
Charlene Lee
- Hometown: Irvine, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Psychology with honors, UC Berkeley
- Graduate: MA in Educational Psychology, Chapman University
- Research Interests:
- School inclusion
- Co-teaching
- Universal design for learning
- Personal Interests: Spending time with family and friends, reading, traveling.
Arthur Maldonado
- Hometown: Firebaugh, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Political Science/International Affairs History, UC Riverside
- Graduate: MS in Educational Counseling, National University
- Research Interests: Some of my research interests include:
- Corporal punishment
- School suspensions and interventions
- Recidivism
- PBIS (positive behavior interventions and supports)
- MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports)
- Personal Interests: I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, particularly during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. It is a very festive time for my family and I, and we enjoy the home-cooked meals, freshly baked desserts and sweets, and the traditional drive through Christmas Tree Lane. I also do my best (after the holiday season of course) to engage in a healthy dose of weightlifting, swimming, and running. Exercise and developing a workout routine helps keep my mental focus and physical well-being in check.
Marcella McCollum
- Hometown: San Jose, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Psychological Services, University of San Francisco
- Graduate: MA in Education: Speech Pathology, San Jose State University
- Research Interests:
- Bilingual education
- Appropriate identification of dual language learners in special education
- Equity and access to graduate school among diverse student populations
- Equity and access to immersion schools for children with special needs.
- Personal Interests: Reading, hiking, traveling, entertaining, singing, going to shows.
Candice R. Nance
- Hometown: Redwood City, California
- Undergraduate: BS in Business Administration/ Marketing, San Jose State University
- Graduate: MBA in International Business Practice, American International College
- Research Interests: My research interests include:
- Teaching and learning
- Differentiated instruction
- Basic aid community college funding
- Gifted and talented education
- Disabled students
- Transformative leadership
- Middle college
- Dual enrollment
- Concurrent enrollment
- Privatization pressures on community college curriculum
- Global education trends.
- Personal Interests: I enjoy traveling throughout the United States and the globe, spending time with family and friends, reading a good book, playing at the beach with my husband and two daughters, and occasionally flying general aviation aircraft.
Renee Paquier
- Hometown: San Jose, California
- Undergraduate: BA in International Relations, CSU Chico
- Graduate: MS in Criminal Justice, Boston University
- Research Interests: Leadership/Criminal Justice/higher ed.
- Personal Interests: Traveling, volunteering.
Roberto C. Portillo
- Hometown: San Mateo, California
- Undergraduate: BS in Criminal Justice Administration, CSU East Bay
- Graduate: MA in Educational Counseling and Student Personnel & MA in Mexican American Studies, both at San Jose State University
- Research Interests: Culturally relevant leadership in alternative education.
- Personal Interests: Pacific Ocean in the Winter. Indian Ocean in the Summer.
Noah Price
- Hometown: San Francisco, California
- Undergraduate: BA in English, Portland State University
- Graduate: MA in Education, San Francisco State University
- Research Interests: Equity and inclusion in higher education participation and in learning outcomes.
- Personal Interests: Biking, running, reading, and travel.
Furwa Rizvi
- Hometown: Dallas, Texas
- Undergraduate: BA in Psychology, University of Texas at Dallas
- Graduate: M.Ed. in Educational Curriculum & Instruction-Teaching Early Childhood, University of Texas at Arlington
- Research Interests:
- Early childhood education
- Professional learning communities
- Leadership styles
- Personal Interests: Makeup, shopping, reading, traveling
Blanca Tavera
- Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
- Undergraduate: BA in Women's Studies, UC Santa Cruz
- Graduate: MSW in Social Work, San José State University
- Research Interests:
- Latina leadership and liberation
- Parent involvement and engagement
- Critical consciousness and empowerment theories
- Social justices issues
- Personal Interests: Spending time with family and friends; finding new dining adventures; treasure hunting; investigating socially responsible investments; practicing yoga and mindfulness; exploring a minimalist life style; and playing board and card games
Leslye Tinson
- Hometown: Compton, California
- Undergraduate: BA in Psychology, San Francisco State University
- Graduate: MS in Psychology, San Francisco State University
- Research Interests: My research interests include:
- The role of mentoring to support college students
- Academic achievement in African American youth
- Mental health as co-curricular support
- Teaching of psychology
- Ways to integrate new faculty into school culture
- Increasing rates of retention for faculty of color
- Personal Interests: I enjoy swimming, tennis, baseball and am a proud fan-girl to Serena Williams and Mary J. Blige.
Hanh Tran
- Hometown: Alameda, California
- Undergraduate: BA in History, UC Santa Cruz
- Graduate: MA in Education: Equity and Social Justice in Education, San Francisco State University
- Research Interests: Looking at public education in an equity and social justice framework, tracking and the implementation of policies relating to high-stakes testing.
- Personal Interests: Sleeping, reading, hanging out with my dogs, watching random YouTube videos with my family.
Veronica Leigh Weaver Lam
- Hometown: San Jose, California
- Undergraduate: BS in Child and Adolescent Psychology, Saint Mary's College
- Graduate: MA in Education: Early Childhood Special Education, San Jose State University
- Research Interests: Inclusion, equity, and access to high quality early childhood education for ALL children.
- Personal Interests: I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and dog Wonder. I love to spend time in nature, travel, and propagate succulents.
Parinaz Zartoshty
- Hometown: Tehran, Iran
- Undergraduate: BA in Government, Cornell University
- Graduate: MA in International Relations, Boston University
- Research Interests: Internationalization- defining and understanding its importance in higher education as the world becomes more interconnected and more complex at the same time; women and leadership; organizational structures in education and how to structure units in a way that empowers and promotes/supports leadership.
- Personal Interests: Hiking, reading, languages and enjoying food from all around the world.