Young Whan Choi
Young Whan Choi graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University and has his Master’s in Teacher Education from Teachers College. A desire to serve students of color and those most disenfranchised in our educational system is at the heart of his work. He has led the development of a national online Ethnic Studies curriculum and co-chaired the Oakland Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies TaskForce. Through his work in public schools in New York City, Providence, RI, and Oakland, CA, he has developed expertise in classroom instruction, curriculum design, work-based learning, and teacher professional development. He has consulted on work-based learning and advisory models with schools in the United States and South Korea. Currently, as the Civic Engagement Coordinator in Oakland Unified School District, he is leading an initiative to ensure that all high schools students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and habits to be active members of their community.
Elyse Eidman-Aadahl
Elyse Eidman-Aadahl is Executive Director of the National Writing Project (NWP), a network of nearly 200 literacy-focused professional development and research educator communities located at universities across all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Based at the University of California-Berkeley, Eidman-Aadahl designs and leads nationally-networked learning and research initiatives for educators working in K-12, university, and out-of-school settings. Elyse’s interests include working with educators in schools, libraries, and museums as they rethink their teaching and learning environments with a view toward digital composition and production, connected learning, equity, and civic engagement. She is a broadly published author and presenter, well-known for co-authoring Because Digital Writing Matters (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and Writing for a Change: Boosting Literacy and Learning through Social Action (Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Chris Evans
Chris Evans is Associate Research Coordinator at the Civic Engagement Research Group at Mills College. She conducts qualitative research for the Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network and for the Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age initiative. She has participated in panel presentations of her qualitative research at the Digital Media and Learning Conferences in 2012 and 2013 – Old Skills – New Context: When traditional civic practices rely on digital tools and networks and The Civic Me: Freedom of Online Expression? Her background includes graduate work in Comparative Literature exploring the relationship between literature, music and folk traditions and includes music and literature studies at the Sorbonne and Schola Cantorum in France and the Universidad Internacional Menéndez-Pelayo and Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. She is also an interdisciplinary artist working to create moments of community through performance.
Erica Hodgin
Erica Hodgin is the Associate Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) at Mills College and the Research Director of the Educating for Participatory Politics project — an action group of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP). She is also Co-Principal Investigator with Joe Kahne of Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age – a district-wide civic education effort in partnership with Oakland Unified School District and the National Writing Project. Her current research focuses on the educational implications of youth civic and political engagement in the digital age. She has authored articles in Theory and Research in Social Education and the Journal of Digital and Media Literacy, as well as book chapters in Digital Equity and Educational Opportunity and #youthaction: Becoming Political in the Digital Age. Erica received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Mills College and completed her dissertation on the ways cultural humility can enable teachers to build effective relationships with students across racial and cultural differences. Before joining CERG, Erica taught English and Social Studies and served as an instructional coach at the middle school and high school level. She also coordinated educational programs in several non-profit organizations in California and Maharashtra, India.
Lizzie Humphries
Elizabeth Humphries is a Secondary History Specialist for the Oakland Unified School District. Before taking on this role, she taught history for seven years in Philadelphia and Oakland public schools. While in the classroom, she developed a passion for the study of history as a means of developing a critical lens on the world, as well as for teaching students to be powerful writers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Yale University and a master’s degree in urban education from the University of Pennsylvania. This year, she will be working closely with economics teachers in the EDDA project to develop civic engagement opportunities connected to the issue of the minimum wage.
Joseph Kahne
Joe Kahne is the Ted and Jo Dutton Presidential Professor for Education Policy and Politics at the University of California, Riverside. He is also Chair of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP). Through this network, scholars from diverse disciplines examine ways participation with digital media is shaping and reshaping youth civic and political engagement. Professor Kahne’s research and writing focuses on the influence of school practices and new media on youth civic and political development. Currently, with Cathy Cohen, he is Co-Principal Investigator of the YPP survey project. Scholarship from this project draws on a nationally representative survey of youth and examines engagement with new media and politics. He is also Co-PI with Erica Hodgin of Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age – working with Oakland Unified School District and the National Writing Project on a district-wide civic education effort.
Ellen Middaugh
Ellen Middaugh is a Senior Researcher with the Civic Engagement Research Group. Her research focuses on how new media is changing the social context of adolescent development and the implications for educational practice. Current projects include studies of youth experiences with online conflict and research on the impact of classroom practices on students’ digital media literacy. She is co-editor of the forthcoming volume #youthaction: Becoming Political in the Digital Age. Recent publications (with Joseph Kahne) include New Media as a Tool for Civic Engagement (Communicar), Service and Activism in the Digital Age: Supporting Youth Engagement in Public Life; Youth Online Activity and Exposure to Diverse Perspectives (New Media and Society); Online Localities: Implications for Democracy and Education(NSSE Yearbook).
Paul Oh
Paul Oh is a Senior Program Associate with the National Writing Project, an educational non-profit focused on the improvement of writing, with local affiliates based at colleges and universities around the country. Paul’s work focuses specifically on initiatives that leverage new media and digital literacies to power learning, in schools and out. Paul’s work with the Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age initiative includes leading a teacher inquiry group on digital research and literacy.
Stanley Pesick
Stan Pesick holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University. He taught 11th grade United States History and the senior level American Government course in the Oakland Unified School District for eighteen years. He was co-coordinator of the Oakland Unified History/Social Studies department from between 2008 and 2012. He has also taught in the teacher education departments of San Francisco State University, Stanford University, and Mills College. He currently is Co-Director of the Oakland Unified /Mills College / Alameda County History-ELA Collaborative, a professional project focused on writing the argumentative essay. Dr. Pesick has extensive experience in designing and directing professional development programs. Between 2001 and 2011 he directed three federally funded Teaching American history (TAH) projects. He has served as an advisory board member to the Bay Area Writing Project at the University of California, and to the National Center for the Study of Writing at UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Pesick’s work with the Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age initiative includes leading a teacher inquiry group on integrating digital civic learning opportunities into Economics and Government curriculum.
Milton Reynolds
Milton Reynolds is a Senior Program Associate with Facing History and Ourselves. Before joining Facing History he spent over ten years as a middle school teacher, adversity/communications consultant and as a curriculum design specialist and has over 30 years of counseling experience. Dedicated to improving dialogue and implementing innovative solutions to address difficult social issues such as race relations and juvenile justice and delinquency concerns, he sustains a high level of engagement in his home community. Milton has a strong interest in understanding how the legacies of history manifest themselves in our present society and how the past informs institutional practices and decision making processes in present day society. To this end, the American Eugenics Movement and its ideological legacies has become a subject of particular interest in his studies. Milton’s work with the EDDA initiative includes leading a teacher content group focused on US History.
Nikole Richardson
Nikole Richardson is a visiting professor at Mills College and the Director of Humanities in the teacher education program, Teachers for Tomorrow’s Schools. Prior to coming to Mills she conducted research with the Stanford Center for Opportunity and Policy in Education and taught in the teacher education program. Her research interests include culturally responsive pedagogy, teacher learning, professional development and school contexts. Before earning her doctorate, Nikole taught high school and supported high school teachers as a curriculum and instruction coordinator for 10 years. She earned her PhD in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University. Nikole’s work with the EDDA initiative includes leading a teacher content group focused on World History.
Jack Weinstein
Jack Weinstein is the Director of the SF Bay Area Region Facing History and Ourselves. Jack has led the Hayward-based office since 1996. The focus of Jack’s work with Facing History has included deep attention not only to content and curriculum, but to the practice of teaching and the issues of “student engagement” and “school culture and climate.” Prior to his appointment as Regional Director, Jack taught English and social studies at Milpitas High School for 18 years and served for seven years as a Staff Development Coordinator for the K-12 district. He has also taught and lectured at several community colleges and universities over the length of his career. Jack’s work with the EDDA initiative includes leading a teacher content group focused on US History.
Shelly Weintraub
Shelly Weintraub worked consistently for the Oakland Unified School District. For the first fifteen years of her career she taught history/social studies in middle and high school. For the next twenty years she was responsible for coordinating the history/social science curriculum and staff development program K-12 for the school district. In addition to the time in Oakland, she has worked for the Bay Area Writing Project with an emphasis on supporting teachers from inner city schools and has co-taught curriculum and instruction classes at Mills and Stanford. Shelly’s work with the EDDA initiative includes leading a group of teachers in documenting and sharing curriculum developed in the EDDA initiative.