Masters

Allison Matamoros

Allison Matamoros is a bilingual educator with 10 years of teaching experience in San Francisco Unified School District. She has taught grades 1 through 7 at Buena Vista Horace Mann K–8, a Spanish-English dual immersion school in the Mission District. Her work has focused on improving literacy outcomes and supporting multilingual learners.

Originally from the Chicagoland area, Allison is the daughter of Honduran immigrants and is deeply committed to public education as a tool for equity and empowerment. She holds a National Board Certification in Literacy and earned her teaching...

Alissa (Ali) Nakaji

Alissa Nakaji is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Her academic interests include a commitment to equity, social- emotional learning, community engagement, and culturally responsive education to empower students’ identities and amplify their voices.

Alissa currently teaches 4th grade at Sunset Elementary in the San Francisco Unified School District, where she has taught for over a decade. A strong advocate for social-emotional learning and culturally...

Tigest Adkerson

Tigest Adkerson is a Master’s degree and Administrative Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Her educational interests include special education, program development, IEP implementation, and inclusive educational practices. Tigest is passionate about elevating special education and is prepared to bring her knowledge and expertise to the forefront of educational leadership.

She currently serves as a Program Specialist in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, where she supports and supervises...

Sarah Chang

Sarah Chang is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute program at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Serving schools in West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) for ten plus years, she has been a Vice Principal at Bayview Summer Extended Program, where she successfully led an effective community of learners and stakeholders to accelerate literacy growth in the most underserved population with a focus on multilingual learners.

Over the years, Sarah has held numerous leadership positions...

Sarah Napoliello Cheveres

Sarah Napoliello Cheveres is a member of the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. With over a decade of teaching experience in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, she has worked with middle school students in grades 6–8. Currently, Sarah serves as the Assistant Principal at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in WCCUSD.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Sarah then attended California State University, Chico and holds a degree in Child Development and Special Education after working with nonprofits for a few years she returned...

Rodrigo Sandoval Perez

Rodrigo Sandoval-Perez is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. His academic interests include post-secondary preparation and matriculation, culturally responsive and trauma informed relationship building, and equitable technology access.

Rodrigo has served as the school counselor at his former high school school of Life Academy of Health and Bioscience in the heart of the Fruitvale of Oakland, CA. As the counselor for grades 6 through 12, affectionately known...

Randal Fraters, Jr.

Randal Fraters Jr. is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute.

Currently, Randal serves as the Literacy Teacher on Special Assignment at Oakland Technical High School. His mission is to support literacy across the school. This is done through coordinating grade-level teams of teachers on learning together from shared practices or curriculum, coaching teachers one-on-one, pushing into classrooms to directly support students, and teaching a class or two. Prior to this role, Randal taught...

Noor Ashour

Noor Ashour is a Master’s degree and Administrative Services Credential candidate in the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. She is an experienced educator and curriculum designer with a focus on arts, technology, and hands-on learning. Over the past 17 years, she has taught a wide range of subjects, including Visual Arts, Makerspace, Engineering, and Intro to Computer Science.

She currently teaches at Oakland International High School, where she develops a project-based STEAM Physics curriculum designed for newcomer students who...

Luz Salazar

Luz Salazar is a member of the 25th cohort of the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. With nearly 30 years in Education, Luz has held roles as an Elementary, and Middle school teacher, Science and Math lead, Mentor/coach, and adjunct professor. She is a founding member of Melrose Leadership Academy, where she has worked in the implementation of the school’s vision by participating in the ILT, School Design team, and using the Expeditionary Learning framework to support our Beloved community of multilingual learners.

Luz has deep knowledge and...

Léna Garcia

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...