Education Funders Group Meeting: Addressing the Educator Workforce Crisis through a Multi-faceted Approach

Lupita Alcalá is the Director of Education Policy and Outcomes and has over 25 years of experience in early childhood to higher education advocacy, policy, project development, and executive leadership. Her commitment to addressing systemic and structural barriers to equity includes tackling complex policy and system challenges through the development of the groundbreaking 2021 Master Plan for Early Learning and Care for California’s Governor, which resulted in California’s expansion of preschool to include all 4-year olds. Lupita recently co-led the development and co-authored Supporting California’s Children Through a Whole Child Approach: A Field Guide for Creating Integrated, School-Based Systems of Care. Prior to joining WestEd Lupita served as the first Latina Chief Deputy Superintendent at the California Department of Education and was Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission. In these roles she worked to remove structural barriers to equity and implemented systems that expanded access and opportunity for historically underrepresented children, youth, and young adults through programs and funding. Lupita has a BA from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ed.M. from Harvard University School of Education.

Julee Brooks is a visionary and strategic nonprofit leader with over 20 years of experience guiding youth-focused nonprofit agencies through dynamic organizational growth and building coalitions for maximized social impact.

Fueled by a deep sense of purpose, unwavering integrity and a commitment to creating positive impact for young people, Brooks has led agencies including Zimmer Children’s Museum (now Cayton), Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, and presently Woodcraft Rangers, where she has served as CEO since 2018.

Founded on the pillars of access and inclusion, Woodcraft Rangers recently celebrated its 100th year of service to Los Angeles young people and continues to provide youth of all backgrounds with the quality expanded learning programs that support holistic development. During her tenure at Woodcraft Rangers, Brooks has propelled the organization to currently serve over 20,000 youth in grades TK-12 annually at over 110 Title 1 schools throughout Los Angeles County.

Brooks is also deeply involved in influential advocacy efforts to forward education equity and whole child educational reforms. She is a steering committee member of CA3, the statewide voice for expanded learning programs, serves on the CDE Expanded Learning Division State Policy Committee and is an advisory board member of Expand LA, a new intermediary dedicated to solving LA’s most complex challenges for young people by uniting institutions and experts across the complex LA landscape.

Brooks was a 2021 Finalist for CEO of the Year Women's Leadership Awards and 2023 Leader of Influence in Nonprofit and Philanthropy by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Dana Grayson is the Director of WestEd's Teacher Workforce Content Area, focused on preparing, recruiting, supporting, sustaining, and retaining the K-12 teacher workforce to ensure all students have equitable access to effective teachers. Drawing on 20 years of experience as a project leader and former teacher, Grayson partners with states and districts to engage in data-driven decision-making and strategic planning. She specializes in educator workforce, resource planning, and district and school improvement issues.

Dr. Kai Mathews is a Research Director at UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools. In this position, she leads a statewide project aimed at diversifying and humanizing the educator pipeline. Dr. Kai (as her students call her) has dedicated her life to creating innovative and equitable learning environments for underrepresented populations. She is an educator, researcher, and creative strategist who is passionate about innovative pedagogies and structures in K-12 education.

With over 12 years of education and research experience with students, teachers, and administrators in various school districts around the country, her areas of expertise and passions include educational equity; culturally sustaining pedagogy; social justice education, Project-Based Learning (PBL); Universal Design for Learning (UDL); Blended Learning (BL); and Design Thinking.

As a former 8th grade humanities teacher at High Tech Middle, Chula Vista, Dr. Kai prides herself in creating immersive, project-based, and liberatory learning environments that push, uplift, and teach the whole child and allows students to engage in critical inquiry, social advocacy, and divergent dialogue. She is the founder of The Liberatory Classroom, a space that provides professional learning opportunities for educators who want to see their students thrive in and outside the classroom.

Dr. Kai has a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies with a specialization in K-12 education from the University of San Diego, an M.A. in Communication from Ellis University, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Creative Writing from Spelman College.