Julio Molina is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley. As an educator he is interested in pedagogies that encourage autonomy, creativity, and critical thinking. He has a bachelor’s degree in Politics with an emphasis on Political Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz. He earned his Master of Arts in Education and teaching credential from Mills College.
He is currently a 7th grade science teacher and head soccer coach at Life Academy Oakland Health and Bioscience. At Life Academy he has served on the co-instructional leadership team (ILT), faculty council, and hiring committee. As the co-instructional lead for the school’s science department he has led his team to think critically and implement academic discussion protocols to support the language demands of a science classroom. After 1 year on ILT, he stepped away to focus on Life Academy’s soccer program.
As head coach at Life Academy Julio has dedicated his time to improving the athletic program by implementing high expectations where all of his student athletes must meet and maintain a 2.0 GPA, appropriate academic standing, and maintain satisfactory attendance. His soccer program expectations serve as a model to the rest of the school’s athletic departments. In 2025, he was a Curry Coach of the Year Finalist.
Prior to Life Academy, Julio was an after school educator for Capitol Heights Academy ASPIRE School. He also served as a communications director and president of the non-profit organization, Dream. Develop. Do. in Sacramento where he partnered with the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento to help organize the annual Steps To College College fair. He was an administrative assistant at Center for Farmworker Families in Watsonville where he co-founded a tutoring program called “Slug Tutoring”.
Outside of the classroom Julio is an active and engaged member of the school community. He regularly attends and participates in soccer events to foster deeper connections with his students and their families. He believes that relationships are built outside of the classroom with shared personal interests. In his free time Julio enjoys going to local coffee shops, exploring new and local foods, and going on hikes. Julio has two passions that are very dear to him: writing poetry and playing soccer. He dreams to one day open a coffee shop with indoor soccer where people can write poetry, read books, and play pick-up soccer.
