Meet Our Team
CA credentialed, deeply committed professionals with over 40 years of collective experience — as teachers, administrators, coaches, and school psychologists.
A first-generation Latina and mami, Claudia brings 20+ years of LAUSD experience — from paraprofessional and bilingual teacher to district-level EL expert and elementary school principal. Her positionality as the daughter of working-class immigrant parents from Colombia and Guatemala grounds her passion for racial justice, linguistic justice, and community-centered education.
- Healthy classroom ecologies & the tension between critical social justice teaching and subtractive schooling
- Antiracist/antibias and culturally sustaining pedagogies
- The intersection of class and race in education
- The value of testimonios y pláticas in qualitative research
- Linguistic justice and translanguaging
- Critically socially just leadership
- PhD in Education — Claremont Graduate University
- MA in Educational Administration — Cal State LA
- MA in Latin American Studies — UCLA
- BA in Latin American Studies — UCLA
California Administrative Services Credential (Clear) · Multiple Subject/BCLAD (Clear)
AERA · American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE)
With 29 years in the classroom and leadership roles at CGU and San Diego Unified, Dianne brings a deep commitment to care, authentic relationship, and culturally responsive teacher preparation. She envisions education as a joyful, human-centered experience that inspires growth, connection, and equity.
- Care in higher education — building meaningful, authentic faculty-student relationships
- Culturally sustaining pedagogies in the classroom
- Teaching with empathy, respect, and self-reflection
- Affirming cultural identities of teacher candidates
- Student-centered learning as a foundation for equity and inclusivity
- IB program coordination and teacher professional development
- PhD in Education for Social Justice — University of San Diego
- M.Ed in Education, Curriculum & Design — University of San Diego
- BA in Psychology — UCLA
Multiple Subject Teaching Credential/BCLAD (Clear) · AERA
With 25+ years serving students, families, and school communities, Lorena brings deep expertise in psychoeducational assessment, culturally responsive school psychology, and inclusive systems. A former general education teacher and mother of two, she centers family collaboration and strengths-based approaches in all her work.
- Psychoeducational assessment — learning differences, attention & executive functioning, social-emotional concerns
- Data-driven decision-making and culturally responsive practices
- IDEA and Section 504 compliance
- MTSS and PBIS consultation and intervention services
- Trauma-informed practices and social-emotional learning
- Behavior intervention planning for diverse learners
- M.S. in Counseling, emphasis School Psychology — Cal State LA
- B.S. in Psychology — UCLA
California Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential
California Association of School Psychologists