Ángel Vargas Rico is a Chicano social justice practitioner and educator and a Master's degree candidate in the 24th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) program at UC Berkeley's School of Education. Ángel is committed to yielding equitable outcomes for historically underserved students and seeks to break the generational cycle of poverty for marginalized students and their families by removing barriers to their educational success. Ángel's commitment to educating, empowering, and supporting students in fulfilling their needs aligns perfectly with the PLI's mission. Ángel currently serves as the Assistant Principal at Hercules High School in West Contra Costa Unified School District.
Ángel has taught courses in Ethnic Studies, including Mexican American Heritage, Asian American Studies, and LGBTQ+ Studies. As a social justice practitioner, he encourages students and fellow educators to examine their positionality and intersectionality critically. As a historian, he questions and scrutinizes the systems perpetuating access and exclusion based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, citizenship status, and disability.
Ángel is committed to learning and applying anti-racist and pro-Black pedagogies to inform his practice and help him find congruence between his professional and personal values. Ángel has a BA in Middle East and South Asia Studies and an M.A. in Teaching. He pursues liberation movements and leverages his platform and privileges to advocate for the Palestinian people and inform the public about the interconnection of indigenous struggles in their decolonization.
Beyond the classroom, Ángel relies on his family and dog to replenish his faith, love, and compassion.
