The following is a directory of students currently enrolled in the Doctor of Education Leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Note: This is an opt-in directory, and does not represent every student enrolled in the doctoral programs.
Doctoral Student Directories: Ed.L.D. Students | Ph.D. Students
Amanda Aiken
Interests: Women in Leadership, Organizational Culture, Leadership Development, Organizational Strategy, Equitable Talent Practices
Having led at the school and district level, Amanda Aiken has built her career on not just leading organizations but developing and empowering other leaders. Her key areas of interest include diversifying leadership pipelines for women of color.
Robert Berretta
Interests: Leadership, Equity, Organizational Psychology, Organization Change
Roberta Berretta researches systems-level change in public education organizations.
Nick Brooks
Interests: Leadership Development, Equity and Inclusion, Teacher Recruitment and Retention, Community Engagement, Urban Education, District Strategy
Nick Brooks has ten years of experience as a teacher, coach, and nonprofit leader in the D.C. community. He is interested in diversifying the teacher pool, expanding leadership development for teachers, and integrating community members into school and education strategy.
Ryan Burton
Interests: Nonprofit Leadership, Philanthropy, College Access and Success, Collective Impact, Leadership Development, Social Work, Community Development
Ryan Burton is interested in leveraging community organizations to build strong K-16 pipelines and address opportunity gaps for children, youth, and families.
Steven G. Chambers
Interests: Technology & Innovation, Learner Recovery Economics, National Policy, Equity, Constructivist & Project-Based Learning
Serial entrepreneur dedicated to increasing learner engagement, particularly for students behind grade-level. Committed to delivering digital learning experiences that extend teacher effectiveness and provide all students access to engaging, differentiated instruction.
Brendan Chan
Interests: K-12 Education, Equity & Inclusion, Race, Innovation, Policy, Strategy and Operations, Systems-Level Change
Brendan Chan has worked in the classroom, at Google, and on political campaigns. He hopes to help drive systemic changes that produce radically better experiences and outcomes for students around the country.
Xiaohoa Michelle Ching
Interests: Innovation, Equity, Education Technology, Leadership, Cross-Sector, Funding, Gender
On a mission to scale love; grounded in the belief that love is a tangible and practical force for liberation for all.
Christina Cho
Interests: Equity, Trauma Informed, Relational Education, Policy, Culturally Responsive, Social Emotional Intelligence
Interested in trauma informed and relational education in marginalized communities
Kristofer Comeforo
Interests: Equity, Innovation and Technology, PreK-12 Education, Strategic Leadership, Organizational Culture
Kristofer Comeforo is interested in developing and scaling innovative approaches to transform our education systems to achieve excellent and equitable results for all children. He has experience as a teacher, principal, coach, and district-level leader in our public schools.
Aaron Diaz
Interests: Equity, Race, Pedagogy, Community, Teaching, Relationships, Strategic
Aaron Diaz has served as a bus driver, coach, middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal. He is passionate about seeking racial equity through improving pedagogy, mobilizing community, improving teacher support, building relationships, and strategic planning.
Jasmine Fernández
Interests: Equity, Coalition Building, Climate and Culture, Culturally Responsive Leadership, Policy, Strategic Planning
Jasmine Fernández has nine years of district-level experience advising and designing initiatives related to culturally responsive leadership, teacher recruitment and retention, school climate and culture, and universal pre-K. She is committed to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
Monakatellia Ford Walker
Interests: Race and Equity, Teacher Leadership, School Turnaround, Assessment, Partnerships, Student-Centered Learning, School Improvement
Mona Ford Walker has over 17 years of experience working in the public-school sector. Her expertise is in school turnaround, teacher development, and leadership development.
Brandon Foster
Interests: Technology Integration, Equity
Brandon Foster’s focus is to create systemic change that allows students to become the best version of themselves. He has served as a Summer School Principal, Regional Director of Instructional Coaching, and a Professional Learning Consultant. He is also a community advocate in Fort Wayne, Indiana, partnering with local organizations to mentor and support juvenile education reform.
Sarah Friedman
Interests: Justice, Family Power, School Founder, Racism, Classism and Patriarchy, Community-Led Change, Voice, Engagement with Power
Sarah Friedman is interested in learning how to redefine high-quality education in terms of furthering human liberation for all people.
Brian Gaston
Interests: PreK-12 Leadership, Innovation, Instructional Leadership, Advanced Academics, Career and Technical Education, Organizational Management, Equity
Doctoral candidate at Harvard working at the nexus of system-level leadership and education innovation.
Ebonée Green
Interests: Policy, Leadership Development, Race, Equity, Community Organizing, Middle School
Ebonée Greenis interested in how Grace and Hope operate in Leadership practices, and influences policy for BIPOC and Queer people.
Emma Herzog
Interests: Equity, Immigration, Bilingual Education, K-12 Education
Emma Herzog is a bilingual leader with experience working and leading in Spanish-speaking communities. She is particularly passionate about ensuring that immigrant communities flourish in partnership with public school systems, and that all students receive an equitable education.
Ryan Huppert
Interests: Equity, Student-Centered, International Baccalaureate, Place-Based, Deeper Learning, Pedagogy, Higher Education
Ryan Huppert's goal is to share best practices of education leadership in student-centered education, International Baccalaureate model, place-based education, and deeper learning to assist organizations in closing the equity gap and delivering quality educational experiences for all students.
Ben Lewis
Interests: Collective Impact, Antiracism, Innovative School Models, Philanthropy, Policy, Critical Consciousness
Ben Lewis has experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. He is interested in changing our education systems with the goal of eradicating racism and poverty in our country.
Gustavo Luna
Interests: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Bilingualism, Mentorship, Interventions
J.J. Muñoz
Interests: Organization Culture, School Leadership, Equity, School Turnaround, Urban School District, Technology in Education, Innovative School Models
J.J. Muñoz is a former principal, academic coach, and teacher spanning across Arizona, Florida, and Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with urban school districts and turnaround schools. His areas of expertise are in school culture, urban education, and instruction.
Kirstin Northenscold
Interests: Teacher Learning, Organizational Change, Instructional Leadership
Kirstin Northenscold is interested in the social organization of schools, teacher learning, and the role of professional and personal identity construction in school change efforts.
Ben Parad
Interests: Learning Organizations, Dual Language Education, Ethnic Studies, Distributed Leadership, Social Emotional Learning, Social Justice Education
Ben Parad's interests lie in collaborative teacher leadership, professional learning, and culturally- and linguistically-sustaining practices, especially for multilingual learners.
Kori Ricketts
Interests: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, LGBTQ+, Intersectionality, Race, Leadership, Operations, Women
Kori Rickets is interested in diversity, equity and inclusion, inclusive leadership practices, and school operational systems.
Vernon-James Riley
Interests: Equity and Inclusion, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Data-Informed Decision Making, Leadership Development, Change Management, Scaling for Impact
Vernon-James' passion lies at the nexus of honoring the uniqueness of each school community’s needs and its leader’s vision while leveraging the tried and true principles of data-informed instruction system-wide in service of student wellness and achievement.
Berenice Rodriguez
Interests: Higher Education, Policy, Equity, Postsecondary Attainment, Inclusion, Adaptive Leadership, Innovative Strategies
Berenice Rodriguez is an educational leader with over 20 years of experience as an elementary and high school principal and appointments at the state and federal education departments. She is passionate about improving postsecondary access and attainment for underserved students.
Jake Steel
Interests: Leadership, Policy, Innovation, School Redesign, Whole-Learner Outcomes, Rural Education, Federal Education
Jake Steel’s research focuses on creating the enabling conditions in systems to better center around student learning and development. From the schoolhouse to the White House, he looks at policy, innovation, and design that can meet every student where they are in the learning process.
Judy Touzin
Interests: Race and Gender, Principal Preparation, Organizational Health, Juvenile Justice Education, Innovative School Design
Judy Touzin's interests are in the area of transforming the school experiences and outcomes for Black boys and young men as well as principal preparation and development.