Advisory Board

Dr. Ramirez Delgado has over 30 years of experience working on challenging educational disparities within diverse learning communities. He has taught in elementary school settings in both private and public schools around bilingual education. He has been an administrator for over 23 years as a founding member of the first dual-language school in Chula Vista, California. Dr. Ramirez Delgado is also a consultant promoting human rights education. He received a Doctorate in International Multicultural Education, as well as a Certificate in Human Rights Education from the University of San Francisco. He is currently the Executive Director/Founder at a Chula Vista Learning Charter School in San Diego where he co designs and facilitates transformation through a culture of innovation, agency, and empathy.

Paul is an Associate Professor of Writing Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the co-founder and immediate past president of the International Society for the Advancement of Writing Research and co-editor of seven edited collections of research. His research publications include articles and chapters on longitudinal writing research and writing for social change. He has spent more than ten years as a strategic advisor and change leader with Ashoka: Innovation for the Public. In his role, he has been a liaison with universities and colleges schools of education for the advancement of Changemaking. He is also the co-author of the book International Models of Changemaker Education: Programs, Models, and Designs.

Josefina is an elementary education teacher with a Master’s degree in Education form the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC). Since December of 2014, she has been the Dean of the faculty of education at the Universidad of Desarrollo (UDD), Chile. Josefina has been the subject matter expert and member of consulting commissions for the government in preschool and elementary education. Her research and publications have been related to areas of teaching for understanding, teaching critical thinking in schools, conceptual change, regulation, and changemaking. She leads the Changemaking initiatives at the UDD though the creation and implementation of innovative programs, coursework, ad fiel experiences for teacher candidates.

Called the “Water Girl of India” by CNN and the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, Garvita started Why Waste? after learning that 14 million liters of water is wasted every year at restaurant tables. She and her team of ‘waterpreneurs’ have reached out to over 500,000 restaurants across India, preventing over 10 million liters of water from being wasted, and impacting over 6 million lives. In 2021, Garvita was the youngest lister on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia-Pacific list of Social Entrepreneurs and is the first and only Indian to be awarded a Wonder Grant from the Shawn Mendes Foundation. She is an expert mentor at Global Citizen Year and works with UNICEF to action their Youth climate strategy. Garvita represents the voice of youth and works deeply towards involving more youth in changemaking through her work with Global Organizations.

Joe is a teacher in the Santee School District, Joe Kemery has worked for the past 15 years on ways to integrate technology and meaningful project design, for both students and teachers. He has been a leader through his implementation of both Project Based Learning and Blended Learning within the Intermediate Elementary setting. He has taken these passions to help students look for ways that they can begin having an impact in their own communities, all while trying to help kids discover their own passions to ‘be the change’. He continues to be a mentor for preservice teachers. Some of Joe’s professional accomplishments include being one of San Diego’s 43 County Teachers of the Year (2015) and a Teachers Are Heroes Award winner (2017).

Marta is the pedagogical coordinator in primary education for Trilema schools in Madrid and the Trilema school Safa. She also supports the master’s programs at the Nebrija University of Madrid, the CEU Cardenal Spinola of Seville, in the Trilema schools. Marta is a member of the school management team and coordinator of early childhood at Trilema. She is a coach and teacher trainer in national and international schools and specializes in supporting management teams to carry out processes of school transformation and educational innovation. Marta has extensive experience editing educational materials. She is a specialist in executive functioning as well as evaluation as keys to effective learning.

Perla Lahana Myers, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences and a Professor of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego (USD). Perla is passionate about achieving equity in education and diversifying the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Perla received USD’s Women of Impact Award, the Innovations in Experiential Education Award, the Theresa and Drew Talley Scientific Mentorship Award, and the Mathematical Association of America Southern California-Nevada Section Award for Distinguished University Teaching of Mathematics and was named Woman of Valor by the San Diego Jewish Arts Festival.

Vipin Thekk is a Senior Change Leader at Ashoka and works primarily with individuals and institutions to co-create ideas on ways to adapt and thrive in times of rapid change. He is an experienced facilitator, coach, design consultant, public speaker and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Changemaker Communities initiative, which weaves together influential institutions in cities to support the next generation of changemakers. He specializes in supporting and equipping individuals and teams to thrive in a rapidly changing world. He designed and built the Changemaker School districts model, where stakeholders in a school district co-create ideas to integrate ‘empathy & agency’ into the mindset, systems, and culture of schools (www.changemakercommunities.org).

Kristina is a creative and passionate educational leader with experience working and leading in a variety of outside-of-the-box K-12 educational environments. She graduated with distinction from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Bachelor of Education. She is also a certified holistic nutritionist, Royal Conservatory of Music affiliated flute instructor, and obtained a Master’s in Education specializing in Leadership from the University of San Diego (SOLES). Kristina is the founder and head of Calgary Changemaking school, a school supporting children’s mental health and well-being through outdoor learning, creative expression, social innovation and empathetic leadership.