Soraya Sablo Sutton is the Program Director of the Principal Leadership Institute. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley's School of Education in the division of Language, Literacy, and Culture in 2003. Dr. Sablo Sutton's research focuses on equity-oriented social justice leadership preparation, retention and sustainability. To that end, she supports a host of racial affinity groups for site and systems level leaders through the 21st Century School Leadership Academy. Additionally, Dr. Sablo Sutton helps to guide the work of the Leadership Support Program (LSP), the Tier 2 Induction Program, which offers professional learning and coaching for early career school leaders.
Under Dr. Sablo-Sutton's direction, the Principal Leadership Institute was awarded the Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation Program honor by the University Council for Educational Administration, 2024.
Dr. Sablo Sutton has taught courses for the PLI since 2014 covering a wide range of leadership topics including School Supervision and Evaluation, Curriculum and Instruction for School Leaders, Data for School Improvement, School Finance and Resources, and Fieldwork Practicum. In addition, Dr. Sablo Sutton coordinates programs for teacher leaders, works with local school districts to support practicing administrators, and facilitates professional learning workshops for PLI alumni. As part of the Chancellor’s Partnership Grant, Dr. Sablo Sutton has supported the professional development of the Leaders of Color Network in Berkeley Unified School District. She coordinated the Change Makers project, a state-wide grant funded by the Stuart Foundation, designed to support school principals and combat leader burnout.
Dr. Sablo Sutton has also served as an international consultant on projects focused on school-wide improvement efforts. Most recently, she worked with administrators and teachers to implement a Pedagogical Mentoring reform initiative in Santiago, Chile, at the Universidad de Diego Portales.
Prior to joining the PLI, Soraya Sablo Sutton worked in San Leandro Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District as a teacher, instructional coach, and elementary principal for over a decade. In Oakland Unified, she served on the design team for the Small Schools Initiative. In San Leandro Unified, Dr. Sablo Sutton led district-wide equity-focused professional learning for teachers and administrators. Dr. Sablo Sutton is a graduate of the Principal Leadership Institute, Cohort 13.
