Leadership Programs

rocky chiasson

rocky chiasson is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) at UC Berkeley’s School of Education, with an anticipated graduation in Summer 2025. With 19 years of experience in California’s public school system, rocky brings a deep commitment to student well-being and educational equity. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Social Work, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

Over the course of her career, rocky has dedicated herself to social service and education, serving communities in the areas of...

Bruce Fuller

Note: I have retired from teaching and (with mixed emotions) no longer accept graduate students.

Bruce Fuller, a sociologist, delves into how institutions, large and small, try to lift the learning and growth of children. This prompts the question of how local actors, educators, and policy players can work smarter to lift organizations.

Recent work delves into:

The policy strategies deployed by the Trump Administration to erode the vitality of middle and low-income families. For example,...

Travis J. Bristol (he/him/his)

Travis J. Bristol is an associate professor of teacher education and education policy in Berkeley’s School of Education and (by courtesy) the Department of African American Studies. He is also the faculty director of the Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity. Before joining Berkeley's faculty, he was a Peter Paul Assistant Professor at Boston University. Using qualitative methods, Dr. Bristol explores three...

Chelsea Card

Chelsea Card has worked in the California public school system for fifteen years. She is entering her twelfth year as a classroom educator in the San Francisco Bay Area holding foundational single subject credentials in both math and science, as well as a multiple subject credential earned from Concordia University, Irvine. She currently serves as a middle school math teacher in Woodside, California.

Chelsea is working towards her Master’s Degree as a member of the 24th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. As an educator, Chelsea...

Leadership Programs 2024 in Review

2025

Francis Estabillo

Francis is a graduate student in the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley School of Education. His academic interests include critical pedagogy, equity-focused learning and instruction, and educational leadership for social justice.

Francis earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, majoring in mathematics, from the University of Pangasinan, in the Philippines. He then pursued a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on mathematics education, from the University of Texas at Arlington. Currently, he is working on his dissertation at the...

Adrianna Jeanpierre

Adrianna Jeanpierre is a candidate in cohort 24 for the Masters in Educational Leadership at the Principal Leadership Institute.

Adrianna currently works as a school psychologist in West Contra Costa Unified School District with 14 years of experience. She has worked in the same capacity serving in Oakland Unified School District for the first 3 years of her career. She has supported students, colleagues, and staff in various ways via cultural responsiveness training and race & equity work, and most recently supported her district psychology department as co-lead for the past...

David Tommasini

David Tommasini is a Master's degree candidate in the 24th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute program at UC Berkeley's School of Education.

David is currently a high school math teacher at Oakland High School, where he has taught for 4 years. Along with teaching, David is also one of the co-directors for the school’s recent immigrant student program.

Prior to Oakland High School, David earned his Masters degree in Education (Emphasis on English Language Learners) from National University, and a BA in History from the University of Washington (Seattle).

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Alifea Davis

Alifea Davis is a Master’s degree candidate in the 24th Cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Alifea was raised in North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a student-athlete. Graduating, with intentions of becoming a lawmaker for social justice, Mr. Davis attended New College of California School of Law and Golden Gate University School of Law earning a Juris Doctorate and Latin Legum Magister, respectively.

Alifea is the Founder and Executive Director of The Diaspora Institute, a non-profit...

Kathy Locke

Kathy Locke is a Master's degree candidate in the 24th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute program at UC Berkeley's School of Education. She has been teaching since 2002, beginning in Oakland as a first grade teacher and a founding teacher at Think College Now Elementary School. She has worked as a reading specialist, literacy coach and ESL teacher in Oakland, Brooklyn, and San Diego. She is currently the Family Literacy/ESL teacher with Oakland Adult and Career Education at Fruitvale Elementary School, where she works with parents who want to learn English and how to help their...