Cohort 3 | Class of 2019

Radha Aravamudhan 

• Hometown: India
• Undergraduate: BS in Chemical Engineering at Birla Institute of Technology in Pilani, India
• Graduate: MS in Engineering at San Jose State University
• Research Interests:
  • Educational Policy
  • Educational Equity
  • Designing effective strategies for remedial learning for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
  • Teacher training methods that support new teachers
• Personal Interests: Traveling, reading, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering at education nonprofits.

Anji Buckner 

• Hometown: Soquel, California
• Undergraduate: BA in Women's Studies/Community Studies at UC Santa Cruz
• Graduate: MA in Public Health at San Jose State University
• Research Interests:
  • Diversity
  • School climate
  • Community engagement
  • Smooth transitions
  • Health education
  • Policy
  • The intersections of public health and public education.
• Personal Interests: Spending time with family and friends, camping, traveling, and biking.

Sara Douglas

• Hometown: Modesto, California
• Undergraduate: BA in Liberal Studies at CSU Sacramento
• Graduate: MS in Education (Instructional Media) at Wilkes University
• Research Interests:
  • Best practices to prepare, train, support and retain excellent teachers
  • Influence of play, games, and creative time to improve motivation and learning 
  • Global student collaboration through the use of instructional technology
• Personal Interests: Traveling, exploring, playing games with family and friends, reading, and sprint triathlons.  

Analiza Filion

• Hometown: San Joaquin Valley, California
• Undergraduate: BS in Business Administration (Marketing) at San Francisco State University
• Graduate: MA in Education/Elementary Teacher Education at University of Phoenix at Honolulu Campus.
• Research Interests: One area of research that I would like to pursue is the educational technology needs of students living in rural communities. I would like to understand how their needs are being met since budgetary constraints and geographic challenges of internet connectivity are factors within these school districts. Another area of research that I would like to pursue is the educational needs of refugee children living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I would like to understand the unique needs of this student population and the impacts that our school systems have had on them.  
• Personal Interests:  My personal interests include spending time with my family, researching fashion trends, planning and hosting special events, traveling, reading, going to the beach, and working out at the gym. 

Annette Kennedy

• Hometown: Sanford, North Carolina
• Undergraduate: BA in Sociology and African American Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Graduate: MA in Sociology at North Carolina Central University and Masters of School Administration at Fayetteville State University 
• Research Interests: 
  • Equity & Reform
  • Charter Schools
  • Non-Western Educational Models (Pedagogies & Strategies)
  • Differentiation of Instruction (Hands-on, Service Learning, Technology)
  • STEAM
  • Class Size
• Personal Interests: Bowling, cooking, sightseeing/traveling, spending time with family 

Elida MacArthur

• Hometown: San Jose, California
• Undergraduate: Spanish/Latin Literature at UC Santa Cruz
• Graduate: UC Santa Cruz - Masters in Education and BCLAD Teaching Credential San Jose State University, Administrative Service Credential and an M.A in Educational Leadership
• Research Interests:  As an educational leader I am interested in researching better leadership practices to increase the academic success of minority students. For the past twenty years I have worked in a K-8 district that serves primarily Hispanic/Latino students, English Language-Learners and students from Low socio-economic backgrounds. I have a passion and a strong commitment to improve the learning environment/conditions of the students I serve. I'm aware that the needs of the students I currently serve are many and the achievement gap for these students is not closing but getting larger. It is imperative for educational leaders that are responsible for educating a diverse student population to find research based practices to improve educational equity, access, and provide culturally relevant teaching to address the educational needs of urban students.
• Personal Interests: My personal interests are reading, gardening, and spending time with family.

Rebecca O'Brien

• Hometown: San Martin, California
• Undergraduate: Cognitive Psychology at San Jose State University
• Graduate: Clinical Child Psychology and Counseling, CSU Hayward (East Bay)
• Research Interests: Inclusive practices including the benefits and costs for both special and general education students. The real costs of special education including student achievement outcomes.
• Personal Interests: Family, travel, hot yoga, gardening, hiking, foreign missions, and beekeeping 

Suzanne Paulazzo

• Hometown: San Jose, California
• Undergraduate: BA in Liberal Studies at CSU, Chico
• Graduate: M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction at Notre Dame de Namur University
• Research Interests: I am interested in teacher education and how individuals are prepared to be teachers, including preservice training, induction programs, and supporting new teachers in the profession, as well as continuing professional development.
• Personal Interests: I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, drawing, camping, riding horses, ice skating and travel. Most of my time is spent with my husband and two daughters, doing anything together from hanging out at home watching a movie to traveling abroad. 

John Schilling

• Hometown: Hollister, California
• Undergraduate: History with emphasis in Teaching at San Diego State University
• Graduate: M.A. in Educational Administration at Santa Clara University
• Research Interests:
  • Educational Systems Redesign
  • Summative Assessment Systems
  • Cultural Proficiency in Educational Leadership
• Personal Interests: Sports and athletics, fitness, family/social 

Cathrine Voss-Plaxton

• Hometown: Breckenridge, Michigan
• Undergraduate: Economics
• Graduate: Human Resources and Organization Development. Also Counselor Education, PPSC
• Research Interests: My research interests include, but are not limited to, the following themes:
  • Impact of student college/career readiness and education-stage transition support on life outcomes;
  • Leveraging innovation and multicultural/global awareness to increase global impact of education; and
  • Leadership best practices for performance development and retention of faculty and staff
• Personal Interests: My favorite activities outside of work include hiking, kayaking, listening to (and sometimes singing along with) vocal jazz, and generally relaxing with my family and dogs. 

Hyon Chu Yi-Baker

• Hometown: Morgan Hill, California
• Undergraduate: American Cultural Studies with an emphasis in Ethnic & Gender Studies at Western Washington University
• Graduate: Student Affairs in Higher Education at Colorado State University
• Research Interests: My research interest includes the following:
  • Examining the intersection of identities (racial, ethnic, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation) in particular students of color in the P-16 educational system with a special emphasis on first-generation college students as it relates to issues of access, retention, graduation, and culturally responsive pedagogy;
  • Developing a comprehensive age/class appropriate diversity/social justice curriculum and training model; and
  • Analyzing policy, educational reforms, and institutional structures that often create barriers and inequities in our schools through a critical social justice lens.
• Personal Interests:  I love to travel, cook, and try out new restaurants. But it's the time I get to have with my two beautiful children, husband, family, and friends that I cherish the most.