Dr. Jessica Evans serves as a Lecturer and Coordinator of Instructional Support in the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) and Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) programs. She also co-coordinates the Leadership Programs coaching program. She previously coordinated the Social Justice Teacher Leader professional learning series for teacher leaders.
Jessica earned her teaching credential and Master’s from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Master’s and Doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. While at Harvard, she served as a teaching fellow for her advisor, Dr. Richard Elmore, as well as for Professor Paul Reville. Additionally, she worked as a Research Associate at Education Matters, Inc., a qualitative education evaluation firm.
Addressing inequities in our education system has been the driver of Jessica’s work. Jessica began her education career working in a therapy enriched classroom in East San Jose and then as a middle school teacher in Lennox, California. After her graduate studies, she served as the Principal of La Escuelita Elementary School, Director of Elementary Education and interim Executive Officer of Instructional Services in Oakland Unified School District. She then went on to serve as the founding Chief Academic Officer at Education for Change in Oakland, California. The focus of her work across these contexts included instructional improvement, leadership development, professional development and coaching in service of equitable outcomes.
Prior to coming to UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education, Jessica’s experience teaching in higher education included teaching elementary reading methods at Holy Names University, and secondary reading methods at UCLA. She has extensive experience in program coordination, teaching and leadership coaching all of which she did in the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (PASC), Administrator Induction (CASC), and Master’s programs at the Reach Institute for School Leadership in Oakland, California.
