Rebecca Cheung is an Associate Adjunct Professor and the Assistant Dean of the Berkeley School of Education's Leadership Development programs, including the Principal Leadership Institute and LEAD EdD. She has served on advisory and working groups convened by the California Department of Education, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, CA State Board of Education, California Teacher Credential Commission, UC Office of the President, as well as EdPrepLab, an initiative to strengthen educator preparation in the United States by building the collaborative capacity of preparation programs, school districts, and state policymakers.
Dr. Cheung serves as the Principal Investigator and Director for the 21st Century School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) State Center(link is external). Funded by the California Department of Education, 21CSLA is dedicated to the professional learning and support of California’s educational leaders—teacher, site, and district—to create more equitable learning environments that ultimately improve success for underserved students. Headquartered at UC Berkeley's School of Education, it is led in partnership with UCLA School of Education, the California Subject Matter Projects and seven Regional Academies across the state.
Dr. Cheung’s research focuses on issues of leadership preparation and development, especially related to increasing capacity to lead for equity and social justice that results in creating more inclusive and effective schooling. She also investigates how systems and policies can nurture and increase educator diversity. Her research collaborators include WestEd and the Learning Policy Institute. She has served as a consultant to institutes of higher education, international investments in leader preparation and professional learning, as well as school districts.
Prior to joining UC Berkeley in 2011, Rebecca worked for more than 15 years in Oakland Unified School District and Berkeley Unified School District as a teacher, vice principal, elementary principal and middle school principal, and Director of Evaluation and Assessment. Rebecca earned her doctorate from the School of Education at UC Berkeley in 2008. In 2013, Dr. Cheung was named an Emerging Leader by Phi Delta Kappan, a program that recognizes innovators, thought leaders, problem solvers, and change agents who are making a difference in the field of education.
