Faculty

Desiree Zerquera is an Associate Professor for Higher Education and Student Affairs in the Department of Leadership Studies. Born and raised in Miami, Florida to Cuban parents, she pursued her bachelor's degree in Mathematics and master's degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Florida before attending Indiana University to pursue her PhD in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Desiree Zerquera has worked as a researcher, student affairs practitioner, and higher education...

Ursula S. Aldana is an Associate Professor in the Catholic Educational Leadership (CEL) Program at the University of San Francisco. Her research focuses on K-12 teaching and leadership with regard to issues of equity and access for racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse students. She has conducted a range of studies focusing on language policy and practice; innovations in Catholic schools (elementary and high school); and the sociocultural competencies of teachers and students. Motivated...

Professor Bleasdale is an associate professor and faculty coordinator of the Catholic Educational Leadership program in the School of Education. Born and raised in England by parents who were both educators, she knew at an early age that teaching was her vocation. She has lived and taught in the UK, the Bahamas, and now the US, and her career has been primarily in K-12 education, serving as a high school administrator focusing on equity and inclusion through personnel and student development.

Danfeng Soto-Vigil Koon is an Associate Professor in the Leadership Studies department in the School of Education and the Faculty Director of the Center for Humanizing Education and Research. Her research focuses on educational law and policy as a site of political, economic, and cultural contestation and explores the ways that education law and policy further or impede efforts to create a more just society. Her passion and commitment to public education are informed by her work as an educator...

Dr. Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales is an interdisciplinary scholar of immigration and education. Her academic, activist and community work focuses on the ways undocumented young people are changing the political and legislative terrain around “illegality” and belonging in this country. Her work lies at the intersection of education, immigration, and social movements. She is the co-author of Encountering Poverty: Thinking and Acting in an Unequal World (2016, University of California Press) and co...

Dr. Smith is the founder and former Director of the TryUMF (pronounced "triumph") program in his hometown of Oakland, CA and formerly served as the Co-Director/Principal of the June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco.

He has served as a trainer and administrative coach in local school districts as well as a Center Director under the Foundation for California Community Colleges — the system for which he still consults as a trainer for the statewide Professional Learning Network...

Professor Patricia Mitchell’s scholarly work focuses on gender inequity in higher education, including the disparity in women’s representation in higher education leadership. She has over three decades of experience working with school districts, major corporations, industry, religious organizations, training of teachers, designing curricula, conducting leadership workshops, and designing instructional materials. She has had experience across all levels of public education, ranging from...