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UC San Diego | Department of Education Studies

June Issue 2025

On Saturday, May 31st, the UCSD/CSUSM Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Educational Leadership celebrated its 20th Anniversary at UC San Diego. 

Starting with its inaugural cohort in 2004, the JDP has entered 21 cohorts of inspirational, innovative educational leaders from San Diego and throughout Southern California as they earn their doctoral degrees. The program continues to thrive with over 300 alumni. 

Over 150 JDP alumni, current students, faculty, staff and JDP friends from UCSD and CSUSM joined in this celebratory event. 

Honored guests included the “Founding Mothers” of the JDP, Professor Emeritus Janet Chrispeels and CSUSM Professor Jennifer Jeffries. Each was presented with an Infinity award for their significant contributions to the JDP and educational leadership over the years.  Also in attendance was Randall Souviney who was the former EDS Director at the time and supported the architecture of the program itself. 

UCSD JDP Director Alan Daly noted that “The spirit, passion, and values of the program are something we all carry and share in doing the important work of equity and access.  We look forward to continuing these critical efforts done through and with community for another 20 years!”  

The JDP also unveiled its Earthworm Works Fund to provide awards for graduates of the Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Educational Leadership who exemplify leadership rooted in transformational change. This fund supports the next generation of changemakers—those who will continue to carry forward the mission and impact of the JDP.

“It may go without saying, but I think it’s worth emphasizing – on the anniversary of one of the largest and most well-regarded educational leadership doctoral programs in the region – that preparing and supporting equity-minded educational leaders, particularly those who have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to transform their systems and remain nimble amidst complex political circumstances, is perhaps one of the most essential endeavors one could engage in today.” (Megan Hopkins, Department Chair, Education Studies)

“It has been wonderful to see how JDP students and graduates learn from and support one another across different schools, systems, colleges, universities and other organizations. Spanning boundaries and engaging in collective work is so important in these dynamic times, and I am excited about the potential of this group to truly transform education so it opens doors for more students.” (Amanda Datnow, Associate Dean, Education Studies)

Dr. Theresa Meyerott, a JDP alumna, is an Assistant Professor of Data-Driven Educational Leadership at CSU Los Angeles and a lecturer in UC San Diego’s Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

Her research focuses on the academic success of historically marginalized students along the K-16 education continuum and the intersectionality with school culture, cultural proficiency, sense of belonging, STEM, and identity.

At UC San Diego, Dr. Meyerott currently teaches courses including Educational Research and Evaluation, Leadership Research, Leadership for Learning, Leadership for Organizational Development, and the Colloquium on Educational Leadership. 

One of my greatest professional accomplishments has been mentoring and preparing over 400 STEM teachers to engage diverse learners using culturally responsive practices. While I’ve led large-scale educational initiatives and written policies that have shaped systems across California, it’s the hands-on, relational work of developing future educators that I’m most proud of. Whether I’m guiding doctoral students through the dissertation process or coaching K-12 leaders on inclusive leadership practices, I see each interaction as a chance to shift the system, one empowered leader at a time. That ripple effect is, to me, the most meaningful impact I could make.

Don’t confuse rigor with rigidity. The best educators I know are the ones who hold high expectations while still seeing their students as full, complex human beings. The work of transforming education is not in mastering content alone, it’s in learning how to listen deeply, respond with empathy, and disrupt inequities wherever they show up. Be relentless in your pursuit of justice, but gentle with yourself as you grow.

I became a teacher because I saw the power of education early on. My parents were educators, and some of my first memories are of grading papers at the kitchen table or helping in classrooms with students who needed a little extra support. Education wasn’t just a job in my home—it was a way of life. I became a teacher to carry that legacy forward, and I’ve stayed in education because I believe in its power to transform lives. Every time I see a student find their voice or realize their own capacity to lead, I know I made the right choice.

EDS is excited to announce a set of awards to recognize outstanding graduating undergraduate EDS students! Read more about our recipients for the Class of 2025.

Award: Education Studies Excellence in Elementary Education Award

Major: Education Sciences and Human Developmental Sciences

Career Goals: Elementary school educator, researcher, and author

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." – Arthur Ashe

Award: Education Studies Excellence in Secondary Education Award

Major/Minor: General Biology and Science Education Minor

Career Goals: My goal is to become a High School Biology Teacher who creates a welcoming environment for all of her students and inspires them to stay curious.

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "Always find the light in things, even in the darkness."

Award: Education Studies Excellence in Programs, Policy & Research Award

Major: Education Sciences

Career Goals: Working in outdoor education and recreation for a university 

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir

Award: Education Studies Outstanding Student Award

Major/Minor: Education Sciences and Psychology and Linguistics Minor

Career Goals: Elementary school teacher and university lecturer

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "Keep watering yourself. You're growing.” – E. Russell

Award: Partners at Learning Outstanding Service Learning Award

Major/Minor: Human Biology and Education Sciences Minor

Career Goals: Medicine

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. – Martin Luther King Jr. 

SoCal LINK, a research-practice partnership led by the Department of Education Studies, brings together researchers, educators and community partners to shape the future of PreK-12 education in Southern California. The program was launched by Education Studies faculty Alan Daly and Amanda Datnow, associate dean of Social Sciences, and postdoctoral researcher Marie Lockton, a doctoral alum of the department.

As the Class of 2025 prepares to cross the commencement stage, graduates reflect on the challenges they’ve faced and the legacies they’ve built. Among them is Abigail Penate, a Master's of Education graduate whose journey was marked by resilience and deep personal loss.

“The nation will endanger students’ futures and public schooling itself if we move further in the restriction direction,” Mica Pollock of Education Studies co-wrote in this PEN America opinion piece. Pollock shared findings from her new study on how education restriction policies in Florida are impacting teachers, students and families. 

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