Career Pathways Summit 2016: Resource Page

Dr. David W. Andrews is President of National University, California’s second-largest, private nonprofit university, serving 30,000 students. With over three decades of acclaimed higher education experience in a broad range of academic and educational leadership posts, Dr. Andrews is leading National’s commitment to transforming higher education through innovation, collaboration and an exceptional student experience.

Prior to coming to National University, Dr. Andrews was Dean of the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. During his tenure the School established a reputation for quality that earned it U.S. News and World Report’s #1 ranking of Graduate Schools of Education two years in a row. While at Hopkins he helped found the non-profit organization Dean’s for Impact in Education, and lead the design and build of the first new public school (PK-8^th Grade) in East Baltimore in over 25 years. Prior to his work at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Andrews led a merger that resulted in the creation of the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University and was the new college’s founding dean. His scholarly work has focused on intervening in the life course of high risk students.

Dr. Andrews holds a bachelor’s in Psychology from Auburn University, a master’s degree from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. from Florida State University.

Rob Atterbury is Director for Regional Linked Learning Support for Southern California, for ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career, and also serves as a district coach for the California District Initiative for Linked Learning. Prior to joining ConnectEd in 2009, Rob spent 28 years with San Diego Unified School District as a teacher, Program Manager, Director of the School-to-Career program, and Director in the Office of Secondary School Innovation. He also spent a year and a half as the High School Transformation Associate Superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools. In these roles, Rob has been involved in transforming large comprehensive high schools into small, career-themed schools, career academies, and/or smaller learning communities.   Rob is passionate about improving instruction through real-world standards-based curriculum designed to engage students, providing every student with a work-based learning experience, and supporting districts and schools in this pursuit.

Rob is a graduate of San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Studies and a Master’s degree in Education Administration from United States International University. He holds various teaching credentials and a Clear Administrative Services Credential from San Diego State University.

Dan Robles is currently an Engineering Teacher at Kearny High- The Stanley E. Foster Engineering, Innovation and Design Academy (Formerly Construction Tech Academy) where he graduated in 2007.  As a struggling middle school student Dan, found a school experience that connected for him providing relevant real-world projects linking his passion for drawing and design to his academic instruction.  His Academy also provided him a work-based learning experience at Solar Turbines while in high school.  As a result of his Linked Learning high school experience, Dan successfully graduated and landed a scholarship to the University of San Diego Jacob’s School of Engineering where he was  subsequently hired as an engineering coordinator at 5^th AXIS, Inc..  Dan  recently left his job as Senior Design Engineer at Gulf Coast Environmental Systems in Conroe, Texas to become a  teacher at his ala mater. 

Dan is a passionate about Linked Learning and providing his students with the same experiences he had as a high school student.  Dan is eager bring his first hand industry knowledge and background into the classroom so his students will be prepared for college and careers.

Derek Kirk is the Director of Community & Government Relations for the North Orange County Chamber of Commerce in Fullerton, CA, where he works to involve the chamber and business community in to local education and government. He graduated as a member of the class of 2016 from Point Loma Nazarene University with his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science with a focus on local government.

Derek grew up in Porterville, CA attending schools in the Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), including the Harmony Magnet Academy – Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 2012.  As a result of his opportunities attending a Linked Learning Pathways school, Derek interned with the Porterville Chamber of Commerce to complete an internship requirement. While involved with Porterville Chamber of Commerce, he worked to invite businesses from around the community to be involved in the work of the school district via advisory boards, providing internships and working in the classrooms. Derek continued to be involved with the Porterville Unified School District Pathways Office to emcee the Annual Mentors Conference and speak about the benefits of Linked Learning and the value of his Work-based Learning Experiences.

As he continues to grow in his career, Derek hopes to aide the North Orange County and greater Southern California communities in continuing to promote higher education, and connecting educational institutions to local businesses, bridging the gap and strengthening the workforce.

Peter is dedicated to improving the learning outcomes for all students based on research and his own personal and professional experience. Over the last two years, his passion to better serve students and study of relevant research has validated the importance of student engagement and student directed learning. Students of all abilities who can influence the pace, path and context for learning are more engaged and motivated.

Journeys, the most recent addition to INFORM Learning System, was developed to engage learners through interactive learning maps, open educational content and social learning.  Journeys encourages students to take ownership of exploring life’s possibilities in collaboration with teachers, parents and the larger community.

Peter has more than 30 years of experience in the educational environs dealing firsthand with the challenges and opportunities of using technology in the learning process. He also held the position of Dean of the School of Computer Science & Engineering at National University based in San Diego, California.

Tina Ngo Bartel is the Director of Business Programs and Research at the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP). She oversees SDWP’s research department, business services and training programs. Ngo Bartel produced SDWP’s annual Workforce Conference and Priority Sector research, which brought in more than $20 million in grant funding for the San Diego region. She diversified SDWP’s business services’ portfolio by securing SDWP’s first HR Hotline and developing training programs with San Diego’s employers. Ngo Bartel also implemented new training programs for the region that lead to entrepreneurship or industry-recognized credentials in the Priority Sectors. Her other activities include the San Diego Research Council, Asian Business Association Government Affairs Committee and various college advisory boards. Ngo Bartel has a dual bachelor’s degree from UCLA, and a master’s degree in International Management from UCSD School of Global Policy & Strategy (formerly International Relations and Pacific Studies).

Richard Barrera was first elected to represent District D on the San Diego Unified School Board in 2008 and then re-elected in 2012, both times receiving nearly 100% of the vote. He has helped lead the District through the most devastating financial cutbacks in the history of California public schools, by pulling together a community coalition of students, parents, teachers, classified staff, neighborhood, business and civic leaders around a long-term vision of excellence in our public schools. Despite the budget cuts, over Bar-rera’s time on the Board students in San Diego Unified have achieved record high gradu-ation and attendance rates, record low dropout, suspension and expulsion rates, and to-day rank at or near the top of large California Districts in reading, math, science and social science proficiency.

Barrera’s focus continues to be on achieving equity and excellence for all public school students in San Diego. He has led the District’s efforts in keeping class sizes low for our youngest students, in integrating the arts into traditional academic instruction, in making strong bilingual education available to more students, in expanding successful science and career pathway programs, in partnering with community colleges to expand access to college courses for high school students, in protecting our strong International Baccalau-reate programs, and in developing innovative approaches to cultural proficiency and re-storative justice.

Along with a focus on supporting students in the classroom, Barrera has also led the District’s efforts in supporting students and staff through securing billions of dollars in in-vestment in school facilities, including breakthrough investments in 21st century technol-ogy and environmentally sustainable infrastructure. And he has led the effort to honor the work of our educators by increasing salaries, maintaining affordable healthcare and in-creasing effective training for the people who work directly with our kids.

A first generation San Diegan whose father immigrated to the United States from Colombia and whose Grandparents immigrated through Ellis Island, Barrera has spent nearly three decades striving to improve the lives of working families in San Diego and throughout the United States. As a community organizer, he has worked with residents of high poverty neighborhoods to improve quality, affordable housing, access to living wage jobs, and to increase civic participation. As a labor organizer, he has worked with homecare workers, healthcare workers, nurses, teachers, construction and grocery store workers and thou-sands of others to fight for economic and social justice. Most recently, he has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, and currently serves as a leader with the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Barrera, a resident of South Park, is married and a parent of two sons, one a senior in high school and the other who recently graduated from college. Both are products of San Diego Unified. Barrera currently serves on the Board of the United Way of San Diego, the San Diego Workforce Investment Board, the Center on Policy Initiatives, and the Cesar Chavez Service Club. He has previously served on the Board of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School, and coached in the North Park Little League. He is a graduate of El Cajon Valley High School, holds a Bachelors Degree in History from UCSD, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Keith Nuthall is currently the proud principal of Del Lago Academy – Campus of Applied Science. Hired to lead the development of Escondido’s newest high school in July 2011, Keith worked with the Escondido community and local health and biotechnology industry leaders to establish the school’s mission and core beliefs. Prior to coming to Del Lago, Keith was the principal at Del Dios Middle School and served as the Director of Assessment for the San Diego County Office of Education. Earlier in his career, he directed national, state, and local educational initiatives in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS), National School Boards Association, and U.S. Department of Education. He also served for 12 years as a high school science teacher. In his free time, Keith enjoys racing small sailboats, riding road bikes, and casting elk hair caddis flies in knee-deep streams.

Nancy Farnan, Professor Emeritus at San Diego State University, served as Interim Associate Dean in the College of Education; Director of the School of Teacher Education; and professor in the School of Teacher Education, where she co-directed an award-winning Single Subject Credential Program. She has written numerous articles, books, and book chapters, and worked closely with several community and state agencies, including the Youth Council of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, California Department of Education, Linked Learning Alliance, and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She has extensive experience working with various agencies and communities of practice where the goal is to prepare all students for both college and career, and to eliminate persistent opportunity and achievement gaps. Supported by over 2.5 million dollars in grants from the James Irvine Foundation, she led a network of seven teacher preparation institutions in California to prepare new secondary teachers with the unique skills and abilities to teach effectively in Linked Learning pathway programs and career academies.

Dr. Rodenberg is a San Diego native with 34 years of experience in a wide range of teaching and educational consulting venues. She has been a public school teacher in grades 2-12 and university lecturer, an academic director (private school), a program director for School in the Park (Balboa Park, San Diego) and Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) consultant. She has helped teachers attain both preliminary and professional clear credentials. Her education includes an AA in Fine Art (Mesa Community College), a BS in Linguistics (SDSU), MA in Educational Psychology (USIU), and an Ed.D in Teaching Literacy (USD/SDSU). She has earned National Board Certification (twice), presented at numerous conferences, including an Oxford Roundtable on education. Her publications relate to teacher quality and education and literacy instruction. For the past eight years, she has been part of a team of instructors at SDSU who have revised curriculum and created a Linked Learning lens in teacher preparation. This is her second year as the team leader for this cohort of student teachers who focus on “real world” interdisciplinary, project-based instruction and evaluation of learning through partnership with industry partners.

Lea Hubbard earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of California San Diego with a concentration in the Sociology of Education. She has written and co-authored numerous books and articles on educational leadership, school reform, as well as the academic achievement of minority students. Dr. Hubbard’s primary research focus is on educational inequities as they exist across race, class and gender.

Dr. Hubbard conducts research nationally and internationally. She is currently conducting research on data driven decision making and student centered learning. She teaches courses on qualitative research methods, policy-making, and sociology of education. She was recently awarded the University Professorship award at the University of San Diego for her excellence in teaching and research.

Jo Birdsell, Ed.D. is a professor of teacher education at National University, San Diego, California. Jo has served in many positions in PK-12 public schools from teacher to principal to district level administrator. In addition she has worked at the university level as both faculty and administration. Jo has also worked at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) implementing the accreditation system and providing professional development to institutions that prepare educators. She has served as a site reviewer and team lead for accreditation visits throughout the nation.