OUR TEAM

Adam M. Lara, Ph.D., has led cross-sector collaborations across public agencies, philanthropy, and school districts for over 15 years. His research focuses on family-school partnerships and community-centered strategies to build equitable collaborations, and he leverages engaged scholarship and policy to drive equitable school transformation. In his role at the UCLA Center for Community Schooling, Adam works to advance the Center’s research-practice partnerships and oversees the Center’s statewide operations for California’s Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP).

Adam earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Brenda was a student at UCLA Community School from 2009 to 2018. She went on to Wellesley College where she completed her B.A. in Education and Latinx Studies. Prior to joining the center, Brenda worked as a college advisor creating and facilitating college readiness programming for high school students in Los Angeles and Detroit. In her current role, she works with Horace Mann UCLA Community School and her alma mater, UCLA Community School to support events and projects.

Janet Cerda has served public schools as a teacher and developmental researcher with expertise in assessment and multilingualism. Her research centers teacher and student experiences alongside outcome data to understand and improve schooling for multilingual learners. She has collaborated with UCLA Community School educators to study the impact of community-based assessment practices on outcomes. Presently, she continues to explore how community-based assessment influences teaching, learning, achievement, and development.  Janet holds degrees from UCLA (Ph.D. – Education: Human Development & Psychology), CUNY Hunter College (M.S.Ed. – Bilingual Education), and Oberlin College (B.A. Hons. – Studio Art).

As one of the founding teachers of the RFK UCLA Community School, Rebekah M. Kang helped start and develop signature learning programs such as the Seminar Program and Integration Program for students with disabilities. She is also a National Board Certified Teacher, a UCLA Writing Project Fellow, and Teacher-Powered Schools Ambassador.

Sunanda Kushon is a founding teacher at the Mann UCLA Community School where she currently serves as Partnership Lead and Improvement Science Coach. She has also served as a Faculty Advisor for UCLA’s Teacher Education Program. In her current role as the Partnership Lead, she seeks to strengthen K-12 and University partnerships. 

Lauren taught elementary and middle school students for  a decade before returning to graduate school to study how children and adolescents develop their racial identity and how this process unfolds in and is influenced by school contexts. Lauren supports emerging community schools across California with the State-Transformational Assistance Center and supports publication of the Community Schooling Journal.

Lauren earned her Ph.D. in Education withe a specialization in Human Development and Psychology from UCLA and her M.S. in Education from Georgia State University.

Wendy Salcedo-Fierro is a former Lead Teacher at the UCLA Community School where she was also a guiding teacher for UCLA’s Teacher Education Program. In her current role as the Partnership Lead, she seeks to strengthen K-12 and University partnerships. In addition to her work at the UCLA Community School, Wendy is also deeply invested in state and national school transformation efforts. As an NEA partner in the State Transformational Assistance Center, she supports California’s Initiative for Community Schools Implementation. She also helps build and support the national network of Teacher-Powered Schools where she partners with teams in developing collaborative leadership practices for student-centered learning. She is driven by social justice and a passion to democratize schools.

Dr. Dandan Yang earned her Ph.D. in Education from UC Irvine in 2022 and completed her postdoctoral training at the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development. She joined the UCLA Center for Community Schooling in 2024 as a Research and Evaluation Specialist, supporting the California Community School Partnership Program (CCSPP). Her current work focuses on developing the multiple measures specialization program, conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis for the annual performance report, and supporting the center as a state transformation center for the CCSPP. Dr. Yang holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from China and an M.A. in TESOL from USC.

Juno Yingzhi Dong is a Ph.D. student in the Human Development and Psychology program within the Department of Education at UCLA. Her research interests include teachers’ language practices, demographic characteristics, beliefs and ideologies, and self-efficacy. She is passionate about conducting research that supports culturally and linguistically diverse students and educators. Before joining UCLA, Juno earned an M.A. in Humanities with a concentration in Linguistics from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Global Studies and French Studies from Colby College.

Building on her background in developmental psychology research and experience in early childhood education settings, Amaesha is pursuing a doctoral degree in the Human Development & Psychology division at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. Her research focuses on children’s developing understanding of identity and social inequality. As an applied researcher, she aims to bridge research, practice, and policy to address social issues related to child development, education, and families. In her work with the UCLA Center for Community Schooling, Amaesha utilizes qualitative research and storytelling to support and document the implementation of community schooling as part of California’s State Transformational Assistance Center.

Amaesha holds an M.A. in Education from UCLA and a B.A. in Psychology from Vassar College.

Before joining UCLA, Natalie dedicated five years to teaching middle and high school English in the Bay Area of California, where she also mentored new teachers. Her research interests lie in examining how community schools function as a coherence strategy for whole child policy initiatives, district systems, and school practices, with a focus on the intersection of education, policy, and social welfare.

Natalie holds an M.A. in Social Sciences and Comparative Education from UCLA.

Having extensively evaluated educational policies and programs in Chile and Latin America, Andres is interested in how community schools collect and utilize data, focusing on the types of data they prioritize and how various levels of policy leadership, make informed decisions based on this data.

Andres holds an M.P.P., and an Industrial Engineering B. Sc. from Universidad de Chile.