Leadership Programs 2025 in Review

20 25 in Review Leadership Programs

LEAD EdD director

Lihi Rosenthal (holding sign) at a rally organized by the Berkeley Faculty for the Freedom to Learn at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on March 19, 2025

Championing a united vision

We endured dramatic disruptions and challenges to public education and higher education, yet leaders at every level remained steadfast and committed to serving their students and communities. This year’s impact report tells the story of how our faculty, students, alums, and staff have championed a united vision of equitable and safe access to a high-quality education for all students, amid these obstacles.

In 2025, the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) celebrated 25 years of preparing over 700 bold, equity-driven leaders. Cohort 25’s students are 95% educators of color who serve as teachers, coaches, program specialists, school counselors, and administrators in the Bay Area. The Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) EdD program welcomed its third cohort of students, and the Leadership Support Program (LSP) and the Educational Leadership Learning Accelerator (the Accelerator) continued to adapt their dynamic offerings to meet the evolving needs of leaders.

21CSLA (21st Century California School Leadership Academy) began its sixth year, celebrating a significant milestone. Since its inception in 2020, 21CSLA has provided over 900 equity-focused, professional learning offerings and attracted more than 46,000 participants throughout the state of California. In Cohort 2 (2023–2026) alone, 21CSLA served 38,000 participants through 595 offerings to date.

We remain unwavering in our commitment to educational leaders and in attending to issues of equity and justice in schools. Together, we can and will make a difference, especially for underserved students and communities. Thank you for your service and support of public education and higher education.

In community,

Rebecca Cheung ASSISTANT DEAN, LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS; DIRECTOR, 21CSLA; BERKELEY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Jabari Mahiri FACULTY DIRECTOR, LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS; BOARD CHAIR, 21CSLA; BERKELEY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Dear Alums, Friends, and Supporters

Principal Leadership Institute

PLI founding program director Lynda Tredway at a PLI 25th anniversary event in her honor. BELOW PLI Cohorts 1–12 at the anniversary event; Two past PLI directors and the current. LEFT Scenes from PLI 25th anniversary events. OPPOSITE Scenes from PLI Cohort 25

I am thrilled to be a part of PLI, and I would not be here if it were not for the DELPI scholarship. I am really grateful for the program, my instructors, and just being a part of this beautiful, intelligent, highly creative, and humorous community. I applied to PLI because I wanted to see more Black and Brown leaders in the Bay Area. Our kids need to see us represented in leadership.

Anand

What’s PLI reading? Here are a few of the newer titles on the syllabi:

• Culturally Responsive Instructional Supervision edited by Dwayne Ray Cormier, Ian M. Mette, and Yanira Oliveras

• Going the Distance: The Teaching Profession in a Post-COVID World by Lora Bartlett, Alisun Thompson, Judith Warren Little, and Riley Collins

• Jim Crow’s Pink Slip: The Untold Story of Black Principal and Teacher Leadership by Leslie T. Fenwick

A quarter century of preparing leaders who transform schools

Since 1999, the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) has prepared bold, equitydriven leaders who transform schools and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This year marks the program’s 25th anniversary, commemorating a quarter century of world-class, justice-oriented leadership preparation. The team has enjoyed reconnecting with PLI alums, instructors, and coaches and celebrating the tremendous impact that PLI’s 700+ alums have had on TK–12 schools. One of this year’s highlights was in October, when PLI’s founding director, Lynda Tredway, returned home to Berkeley to celebrate the 25th anniversary with Cohorts 1–12. What a truly joyful event!

With the help of the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI) grant, funded by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, PLI remains committed to diversifying the leader workforce. PLI’s current cohort, Cohort 25, comprises 95% educators of color who serve as teachers, coaches, program specialists, school counselors, and administrators in Oakland, San Francisco, and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts. Since 2024, 23 PLI students have received scholarships covering 90% of their tuition costs, and 20 more are slated to be funded in Cohort 26, which kicks off in Summer 2026. PLI welcomes these bright new school leaders, many of whom would not be able to pursue educational leadership without grant support. It is an honor to partner with local districts and state agencies to support the next generation of social justice leaders.

For more information about the Principal Leadership Institute, visit bse.berkeley.edu/pli or contact Director Soraya Sablo Sutton at sorayasutton@berkeley.edu.

Leadership Support Program

Berkeley’s Leadership Support Program (LSP), California’s longest-running university-based administrative induction program, continues to impact the field of educational leadership through its support of early-career administrators. LSP is a two-year, job-embedded administrative induction program that leads to the Clear Administrative Services Credential, serving participants in both the Bay Area and the greater Los Angeles area. The program provides intensive support, which is critical to the resiliency of new leaders. LSP participants engage in retreats and seminars alongside their cohort, creating a powerful network of support with other equityfocused leaders. A critical component of the program is the individualized coaching leaders receive from highly trained, experienced leadership coaches. Coaching is focused on each participant’s individualized goals that surface as a result of a selfassessment on the elements of the Leadership Connection Rubric. LSP encourages participants to engage deeply in an instructional change project and analyze their use of time, as well as reflect on their leadership strengths and growth edges.

In the 2024–2025 school year, LSP served 59 leaders representing a variety of positions spanning elementary, secondary, and central office contexts and 28 different school districts and charter management organizations. The newest cohort, launched in October 2025, includes leaders who are recipients of the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI) grant, which subsidizes induction costs for leaders of color in Bay Area school districts.

For more information about the Leadership Support Program, visit bse.berkeley.edu/lsp or contact Coordinator Jessica Evans at j.evans@berkeley.edu or Stacey Blankenbaker at sblankenbaker@berkeley.edu.

LSP has been transformational in my leadership development and growth. It has impacted the way I see myself as a leader, increased my overall confidence in my leadership potential, and equipped me with the framework language necessary to articulate my leadership practice.

2025 LSP Participant

LSP and PLI coaches and coachees, past and present, gathered at PLI’s 25th anniversary Coaching

Leaders for Equity and Democracy

LEAD’s ability to “speak to the now” makes everything we are learning immediately useful. . . . It validates both the challenges I am facing as a leader and the hope I feel in being able to address these efficaciously.

Current LEAD Student

2025 has been a pivotal year for equity and democracy, and the Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) EdD program has responded in kind. LEAD admitted its third cohort in 2025 and continued to support Cohort 2 in their journey toward the doctorate, maintaining the program’s 100% persistence rate from its inception to today.

Like educators across the nation, LEAD’s students have been directly affected by changes enacted at the federal level. In turn, the program has adapted its curriculum. For example, several of the case studies utilized throughout LEAD have been updated to include ripped-from-the-headlines scenarios, from the presence of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents on campus to federal inquiries into diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and trans-affirming spaces. An existing discourse analysis assignment during students’ first summer challenges students to consider the leadership discourse system leaders utilize to frame issues and solutions. In 2025, the assignment was overhauled, with students now tasked with analyzing the discourse utilized by various educational system leaders testifying before Congress on charges of anti-semitism in their institutions. These changes reflect LEAD’s ongoing commitment to designing a relevant and rigorous curriculum for today’s systems leaders.

For more information about Leaders for Equity and Democracy, visit bse.berkeley.edu/lead or contact Director Lihi Rosenthal at lihi@berkeley.edu.

Educational Leadership Learning Accelerator

During its second year, the Educational Leadership Learning Accelerator (the Accelerator) successfully broadened the reach and impact of Leadership Programs by delivering a diverse portfolio of professional learning and programming beyond the department’s traditional degree and grant-funded programs.

In 2025, the Accelerator provided confidential, one-on-one leadership coaching grounded in the Coaching for Social Justice and Equity model to 24 early-career and veteran administrators from 10 Bay Area districts, charters, and county offices. The team also hosted several professional learning opportunities, including the sixth annual Interview Clinic, supporting 17 leaders in successfully securing new administrative roles. With a focus on cultivating new partnerships, the Accelerator launched new workshops, including Authentic Presence: Public Speaking Toolkit for Educational Leaders (in collaboration with the Berkeley Repertory School of Theater) and Amplifying Educator Voices: An Advocacy Writing Workshop Series (a joint effort with the Bay Area Writing Project), and public events addressing critical issues in education, including the Berkeley School of Education’s premiere of Counted Out, the powerful documentary on the impact of math education on equity and democracy.

In the Summer of 2025, the Accelerator welcomed three school leaders from Tasmania, Australia, through its fully customizable Visiting Educational Leaders offering. During their two-week learning exchanges, participants met with UC Berkeley scholars and Bay Area school leaders to explore innovative educational practices and enhance their leadership capacity.

For more information about the Educational Leadership Learning Accelerator, visit bse.berkeley.edu/leadership/accelerator or contact Coordinator Stacey Blankenbaker at sblankenbaker@berkeley.edu.

What stood out most during my time at Berkeley’s School of Education was the generosity, depth, and openness of everyone I met, from faculty to schoolbased leaders, and the way conversations went far beyond strategies to reimagining what’s possible for students, systems, and leadership.

Broadening the reach and impact of our programs

21CSLA State Center

Elevating every school and every student.

OPPOSITE Scenes from the 21CSLA Coaching Clinic and Spring Collective Retreat

In 2025, the UTK Professional Learning program:

• Revised and updated content for four of eight researchbased, equity-centered learning modules based on the new preschool transitional kindergarten learning foundations.

• Partnered with seven Regional Academies to develop professional learning opportunities serving leaders across the state through trainer inquiry cycles.

In 2025, the UTK Leadership Certificate program:

• Prepared over 50 California school leaders who completed the program and received their UTK Leadership certificate.

• Completed an internal program evaluation to examine how the certificate program is enhancing the capacity of P–3 school leaders.

21CSLA’s more than 900 offerings have attracted over 46,000 participants, and more than 1,300 school leaders have engaged in 21CSLA coaching to date.

Creating equitable outcomes for all students

21CSLA (21st Century California School Leadership Academy) began its sixth year in 2025 with a significant milestone: Its dynamic, research-informed professional learning programming has reached leaders in all 58 California counties, across 737 districts representing 5,428,753 students.

Designed to be responsive to local needs, 21CSLA strengthens site and systems leadership through professional development, on-the-job learning, embedded improvement practices, and a collaborative culture that equips leaders to serve every student.

21CSLA’s more than 900 offerings have attracted over 46,000 participants, and more than 1,300 school leaders have engaged in 21CSLA coaching to date. This achievement underscores a shared vision of empowered leaders who elevate every school and every student and, as 21CSLA moves into its next chapter, a commitment to expanding its impact and supporting leaders in creating equitable outcomes for all students.

21CSLA continues to lead a statewide Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) Leadership Initiative, preparing leaders to implement California’s bold vision equitably. Through a three-level professional learning approach and a Leadership Certificate, the program integrates essential knowledge, strategies, and perspectives of early childhood practitioners and scholars.

For more information about 21CSLA, visit 21cslacenter.berkeley.edu.

21CSLA Bay Area Regional Academy

2025 was a year of steady growth and increasing depth for the 21CSLA Bay Area Regional Academy (BARA). Members of the BARA team continued their commitment to serve leaders across their six-county area by partnering with several local districts and county offices of education to bring in-person offerings to leaders. This was particularly true in the Universal Transitional Kindergarten space, in which BARA team members partnered with local trainers to offer deep learning about leading for equity with the youngest students in mind.

Prioritizing youth voice and experiences and uplifting relevant scholarly practice to TK–12 leaders, BARA convened two Leading for Justice Summits in 2025. Leaders from across the region heard from researchers, local practitioners, and student panels on topics ranging from algorithmic bias in AI models to methods for bringing restorative practices to full effect at their sites. As ever, hearing honest reflections from current high school students about their educational experiences was a highlight of both Summits.

BARA’s affinity group work carries on, growing every year. 2025 saw the largest group of leaders yet in all four of BARA’s existing affinity groups, serving African American, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, and white anti-racist leaders. A deeper study of practices that best serve leaders in these groups is ongoing, and researchers have begun planning for a formal sharing of their findings.

Finally, BARA’s most individualized form of leader support—one-on-one, equityfocused coaching—served many leaders across the region. Participants expressed deep appreciation for their coaching experience.

For more information about the 21CSLA Bay Area Regional Academy, visit bse.berkeley. edu/21csla-bay-area-regional-academy or contact Director Erin Schweng at erinschweng@ berkeley.edu.

This is my first time attending a BARA offering, and I am blown away. Everything—from the organization to the speakers to the students to the discussions with people I just met—has been wonderful. I will definitely join future offerings.

BARA Winter Summit participant

Roundup 2025

Welcoming New Faculty: Maggie Chan and Kourtney Kawano

The Berkeley School of Education and Leadership Programs welcomed two new faculty members in 2025.

Assistant Professor Mei-ki (Maggie) Chan joined the Berkeley School of Education in July 2025. Dr. Chan’s research focuses on advancing equity in education by studying practices, systems, and school contexts that support culturally diverse students. Before her time at Berkeley, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University.

The Berkeley School of Education also welcomed Assistant Professor Kourtney Kawano. Dr. Kawano’s

research examines how culture, Indigeneity, and race/ethnicity shape teaching and learning across P–20 schooling contexts.

Professors Chan and Kawano currently advise LEAD Cohort 3 students and will eventually serve as their dissertation chairs. In Spring 2026, they will also serve as PLI Orals committee members.

Faculty Research Spotlight

Dean Michelle D. Young and Professor of Professional Practice Özge Hacıfazlıoğlu have been awarded a Peder Sather grant from UC Berkeley’s Peder Sather Center for their project, Supporting Students’ Needs through Boundary Work: Introducing Change Laboratories for Professional Learning Innovation.

Faculty Director Jabari Mahiri, 21CSLA Researcher Alison Munzer, and Graduate Student Researcher Ilke Bayazitli presented “LEGO Robotics and Early Learners: Designing Technology-Based Learning Environments” at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting. Their work explores how elementary teachers design and refine robotics instruction to be culturally relevant, foster social-emotional learning, and engage young learners through collaboration and productive struggle. The team recently published articles in four peerreviewed journals on findings from the LEGO Robotics research project.

Assistant Dean Rebecca Cheung and Graduate Student Researcher Aukeem Ballard copublished a paper titled “Microaffirmations as Fugitivity and Affirmation: Resilience of Multiply Marginalized School Leaders,” which illuminates and amplifies enduring wisdom from within the everyday experiences of thriving women of color social justice school leaders.

Assistant Professor Jose Eos Trinidad published his book Subtle Webs: How Local Organizations Shape US Education earlier this year. He is also collaborating with the Getting Down to Facts III team at Stanford and Alix Gallagher from PACE on a report titled “Rethinking California’s County Offices of Education: Understanding their Roles, History, Funding, and Support of California Schools.”

PLI Director Soraya Sablo Sutton copublished a study with Jennifer Goldstein and Tonikiaa Orange titled “You Cannot Change the System Without Looking Inward First: Three California Preparation Programs with Coaching That Makes a Difference.” The article highlights the work of PLI’s coaches and the implications of centering equity in leadership preparation.

In Memoriam

We pause to honor the memory of Stephanie Serrano-Gonzalez (PLI Cohorts 10 and 11), whose career-long dedication to the West Contra Costa Unified School District left an indelible mark. Stephanie led every initiative with her signature warmth, curiosity, and joy, creating a culture of possibility in the face of stark public education realities. A loving mother and wife, cherished friend, and fierce advocate, she took immense pride in her connection to PLI and will be an ongoing source of inspiration to many.

Support Our Students

Our Leadership Programs alums and friends have made generous contributions in support of PLI and LEAD.

The PLI Annual Fund supports aspiring school leaders working toward bringing educational equity and positive change to students and schools in the Bay Area’s underserved communities. To make a secure gift to the PLI Annual Fund, visit tinyurl. com/pliannualfund.

The LEAD Annual Fund supports systems leaders committed to and capable of creating school systems that realize our society’s potential. To make a secure gift to the LEAD Annual Fund, visit tinyurl.com/ leadannualfund

For more information about these or other giving opportunities at the Berkeley School of Education, contact Joe Joseph, Associate Director of Development, at joejoseph@berkeley.edu.

Leadership Programs Team

Faculty

Jabari Mahiri

FACULTY DIRECTOR, LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS; BOARD CHAIR, 21CSLA

Amy Lerman (Goldman School of Public Policy)

Bruce Fuller

Cati V. de los Ríos

Dana Miller-Cotto

Derek Van Rheenen

Erin Murphy-Graham

Frank Worrell

Gina Garcia

Glynda Hull

Jennifer Delaney

Jose Eos Trinidad

Kourtney Kawano

Lisa García Bedolla

Mei-Ki (Maggie) Chan

Michelle D. Young

Michelle Wilkerson

Nathaniel Stewart (University of Minnesota)

Özge Hacıfazlıoğlu

Rebecca Cheung

Rucker Johnson (Goldman School of Public Policy)

Tesha Sengupta-Irving

Tolani Britton

Travis Bristol

Valerie Shapiro (School of Social Welfare)

21CSLA Affiliated Researchers

To learn more, visit 21cslacenter.berkeley .edu/research/affiliated -researchers

Leadership

Rebecca Cheung

ASSISTANT DEAN, LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS; DIRECTOR, 21CSLA

Aija Simmons

UTK LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE DIRECTOR, 21CSLA

Erin Schweng

DIRECTOR, 21CSLA BAY AREA REGIONAL ACADEMY; LEADERSHIP COACH

Kim Wallace

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, 21CSLA

Lihi Rosenthal

DIRECTOR, LEAD AND THE ACCELERATOR

Soraya Sablo Sutton DIRECTOR, PLI

Viet Nguyen

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, 21CSLA

Team Members

Alan Frishman

LEADERSHIP COACH

Anna Wikle

RESEARCH DATA ANALYST, 21CSLA

Audra Puchalski

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA MANAGER

Becca Minkoff

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Brian Luna

PROGRAM ASSISTANT, PLI

Carrie Berg

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COORDINATOR, 21CSLA BAY AREA REGIONAL ACADEMY

Chris Thomas

COORDINATOR, UTK LEADERSHIP

CERTIFICATE, 21CSLA

Christi Roscigno

COACHING COORDINATOR, 21CSLA; LEADERSHIP COACH

Dana Eaton

LEADERSHIP COACH

Dee Dee Desmond

ASSISTANT COORDINATOR, LSP; LEADERSHIP COACH

Diana Garcia

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Diann Kitamura

LECTURER, LEAD

Dorothy Norwood

LEADERSHIP COACH

Janet Terranova

LEADERSHIP COACH

Janine Marcoux

COORDINATOR, UTK INITIATIVE, 21CSLA

Jen Burke

VISUAL DESIGNER

Jennifer Elemen

DIGITALLY MEDIATED LEARNING COORDINATOR, 21CSLA

Jessica Evans

COORDINATOR, LSP; COACHING COORDINATOR, LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS; LEADERSHIP COACH

Jonathon Walker

LEAD ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

Judith Goodwin

LEADERSHIP COACH

Judy Guilkey-Amado

LEADERSHIP COACH

Kamyar Kaviani

APPLICATIONS PROGRAMMER

Kari Grevious

PROGRAM ASSISTANT, 21CSLA BAY AREA

REGIONAL ACADEMY

Karin Seid

LEAD ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

Kristin Tavernetti

FACILITATOR, LSP

Linda Beckstrom

LEADERSHIP COACH

Luz Cázares

LECTURER, PLI

Marcie Plummer

LEADERSHIP COACH

Mayra Reyes

PROJECT SPECIALIST, 21CSLA

Melissa Virrueta-Peters

RESEARCH COORDINATOR, 21CSLA

Michael Milliken

LEADERSHIP COACH

Monica Nagy

LEADERSHIP COACH

Moraima Machado

LEADERSHIP COACH

Nelly Hernandez

PROGRAM ASSISTANT, LEAD AND THE ACCELERATOR

Nikki Marucut

PROJECT SPECIALIST II, COACHING, 21CSLA

nives wetzel de cediel

CONTINUING LECTURER, PLI

Pam Vandekamp

LECTURER, PLI

Pamela Watson

LEADERSHIP COACH

Paul Enriquez

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Quarry Pak

LEADERSHIP COACH

Rae Yuen

LEAD ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Ricardo González

APPLICATIONS PROGRAMMER

Richard Zapien

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COORDINATOR, 21CSLA BAY AREA REGIONAL ACADEMY

Sonal Patel

LECTURER, PLI

Stacey Blankenbaker

COORDINATOR, THE ACCELERATOR; COORDINATOR, LSP

Theresa Bostic

PROJECT SPECIALIST, UTK INITIATIVE, 21CSLA

Todd Irving

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FACILITATOR

Tom Green

LEADERSHIP COACH

Tom Rust

LEADERSHIP COACH

Vani Ari

TRAINER, UTK INITIATIVE, 21CSLA

Wesley Tang

COACHING COORDINATOR, 21CSLA BAY AREA REGIONAL ACADEMY; LEADERSHIP COACH

Woo Williams-Zou

LECTURER, PLI

Xueqin Lin

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR, 21CSLA

Yelena Zakharyevich

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Graduate

Student Researchers

Aukeem Ballard

Ilke Bayazitli

Ivon Gomez

Quennie Dong

Stephanie Chang Student Assistants

Aditya Pawar

Alex Creer Kahn

Annabelle Medina

Arianne De Guzman

Ashba Siddiqua

Caleb Hui

Chloe Bauer

Marisol Medina

Mete Hacıfazlıoğlu

Michelle Mariscal-Lona

Vanessa Guan

With Gratitude

We extend our most sincere appreciation to the Leadership Programs staff members who departed in 2025: Audrey Amos, Brianna Luna, Hannah Cho, Roderick Tan, Sarah Arnett, and Stefanie Baker.

Copyright © 2026 UC Regents.

Cover: Detail of Teaching Tolerance One World poster with youth illustration by Antoaneta Mitkova Demireva, courtesy of Learning for Justice/Southern Poverty Law Center. Thank you to our photographers: Antonio Diaz (p.12), Bryan Gibel (pp. 9, 11, 13), Diego Moran/UC Berkeley Public Affairs (p. 2), Ivy Reynolds (pp. 13, 18), and all of our team members out documenting in the field. This publication is for educational purposes only and may contain material as allowed by the United States copyright fair use doctrine.

The mission of the Berkeley School of Education’s Leadership Programs is to develop and sustain a diverse community of equity and justice–focused teacher, school, and system leaders who transform public education, especially for marginalized and historically underserved students.

We engage in applied synergistic investigations and the development of innovative practices around this common purpose. Our collective work is framed by three overarching questions: What does equity and justice–focused leadership look like in practice?

How are equity and justice leaders effectively developed and sustained?

How must educational systems be transformed to be more equitable and just?

Thank you for making our work possible:

Ballmer Group

Kenneth E. Behring Foundation

Caerus Foundation

California Collaborative for Educational Excellence

California Department of Education

Google Foundation

Walter & Elise Haas Fund

Heising-Simons Foundation

Clarence E. Heller Foundation

James Irvine Foundation

Kapor Center

Rogers Family Foundation

Silver Giving Foundation

Spencer Foundation

Stuart Foundation

University of California Office of the President

Leadership Programs

Berkeley School of Education

University of California, Berkeley 2121 Berkeley Way Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

bse.berkeley.edu/leadership