Graduate Student

Haider Ali Bhatti

As a child, Ali and his family immigrated to the United States from Pakistan and settled in Englewood, New Jersey. As a proud New Jerseyan, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, followed by a Master's degree in Biological Science Education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. After graduating, he taught high school biology and also worked at Khan Academy as a biology content creator.

Currently, he’s a PhD candidate in the SESAME program at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on how we can make...

Ankita Rakhe

Ankita Rakhe (she/her) is a doctoral student in Cohort 2 of the Leaders in Equity and Democracy program. She has been a Student Affairs practitioner for 20 years with a deep investment in diversity, equity and inclusion advocacy; conflict mediation; and leadership coaching, all with a holistic focus of belonging. She has previously worked at The Ohio State University; Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas; and Santa Clara University. She currently works at Stanford University as the Assistant Dean for Student Support & Director for Special Projects. She is a Strengths Certified Coach...

July Córdoba

July Córdoba is a candidate for the Masters In Educational Leadership at the Principal Leadership Institute.

July brings over 15 years of experience in the field of education. She has worked in several capacities and in multiple school districts in her native Colombia, the Bay Area, and Indianapolis. July has been an AmeriCorps member, a founding teacher, a leader in the nonprofit sector, and most currently a school leader. Her work is inspired by her own educational experiences as an immigrant, and an English Language Learner: she has been involved in multiple initiatives related...

Griffin Munzel

Griffin has been an educator in Oakland middle schools since 2017. He is a math teacher, and has served in various roles including grade level chair, instructional coach, curriculum consultant, and instructional leadership team subcommittee lead. Additionally, Griffin has led school team’s in the Agency by Design Oakland fellowship, and co-authored a Middle School Data Science Curriculum in partnership with OUSD and WestEd. Griffin’s areas of interest include school design for student agency and inclusion, MTSS implementation, curriculum design, and instructional coaching. Griffin has a BA...

Kesha Jenkins

Kesha Jenkins, M.Ed., is a graduate student in the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) program. She has worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, and Berkeley Unified School District in various positions. She received her Master of Education and California Multiple Subject Credential from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to that, Kesha received her Bachelor of Arts in Child Development with an emphasis in elementary subject matter and a minor in Psychology, and upper-division theme in race, diversity, and justice from...

Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin is a doctoral candidate and Eugene Cota Robles Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley. He studies the politics of philanthropic organizations and their involvement in K-12 public education with a particular focus on foundations that are created by Black people. More broadly, Jeremy’s research explores the politics of elite and non-state actors in public education.

Jeremy is the recipient of the University of California’s Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award and is the inaugural Junior Visiting Fellow at ESSEC Business School’s Philanthropy Chair....

Nicole Cedillo

Nicole Cedillo is an accomplished educator, researcher, and advocate for equitable education with a rich background in history, feminist studies, and English language development. With a Master of Arts in History from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts in Feminist Studies and History from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Nicole has seamlessly woven academic knowledge with a passion for creating inclusive learning environments.

The journey into education began with Nicole earning a Single Subject English Language Arts certification from the Reach Institute for School...

Ilke Bayazitli

Ilke Bayazitli is a first-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UC Berkeley. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Boğaziçi University in 2021. She then received her master's degree in Psychological Science with a concentration in Social, Personality, and Affective Science from San Francisco State University in 2023. She has been involved in research on the psychosocial factors that are associated with the well-being of adolescents, including discrimination based on different identities, educational experiences, time perspective, and substance use....

Malcolm Norrington

Malcolm Norrington is a lifelong, holistic, systems thinker with experience as an administrator (vice principal and summer school principal, 2019–2023) at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California.

Malcolm is currently the principal at El Cerrito Senior High School (2023–present) in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. As an administrator, there is no responsibility that he has not performed. He has been a teacher, child nutrition services worker, custodian, and security. Malcolm understands the importance of doing the work of those you support and does whatever is...

Mai Xi Lee

Mai Xi Lee began her journey in the Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) program at Berkeley School of Education in the summer of 2021.

She has served in K-12 school school systems in a variety of roles, including bilingual paraeducator; elementary teacher; high school counselor and administrator; and district administrator. She currently serves as the Social Emotional Learning Director for the Sacramento County Office of Education, where she leads a statewide effort to implement equity-centered SEL in all counties. She firmly believes that democracy and equity thrive when people...