Léna Garcia is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute, where she is also working towards her Administrative Services Credential. She is a Reading Intervention Teacher on Special Assignment at Castlemont High School in Oakland’s vibrant Eastmont neighborhood. At Castlemont, she collaborates with a team of social-justice minded educators to design and run the school’s Literacy Program and to teach a Reading Acceleration class for 9th-12th graders in deep East Oakland.
Léna earned her Master of the Arts in Education and English teaching credential from UC Berkeley’s BE3 (Berkeley Educators for Equity & Excellence) program, now BTEP. She holds a B.A. in Literature and a Minor in Professional Editing from UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies. Léna has worked in education, including as an advocate for students of color at her former high school, for the past 10 years. She has served as the Managing Editor of Literature for Life, an LA-based literary journal and educators’ resource. Before that, she was the Assistant News Editor at The Santa Barbara Independent. She lives in Oakland with her long-term partner.
She’s a proud Chicana with roots from Orange County to Santa Cruz, where she was raised. Léna enjoys sourcing vintage fashion, furniture, and home decor, listening to alternative R&B music, and taking hot yoga classes. She’s a dedicated member of her book club and an aspiring home chef.
