Dr. Kenneth Magdaleno is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research (CLEAR). CLEAR’s primary goal is the development of social justice educational leaders through mentoring using Paulo Freire’s Praxis, or “Intentional Activism.” Other goals include addressing discipline and equity issues throughout the educational system while researching the impact of positive leadership models on underrepresented groups. Dr. Magdaleno earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA and also holds a master’s degree in counseling and guidance and a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from California Lutheran University. His primary research interests are areas of equity, critical race theory, social justice, leadership mentoring and developing educational leaders of color.
Dr. Rosa Guerra – Director, Social Justice Leadership Mentoring Program
A daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, Dr. Rosa Guerra was born and raised in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. As such, she is committed to ensuring equity and access for all children. Dr. Guerra has worked in the field of education since 1994. She began her career as a school office manager, then elementary school teacher, assistant principal and has been an elementary school administrator since 2005. She has also taught graduate students as an adjunct professor for Point Loma of the Nazarene University.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, San Bernardino, and a Master’s and Ed.D. degree from Azusa Pacific University. Her doctoral dissertation entitled, Mentoring of Second-Generation Latino/a Principals: How Do Second-Generation Latino/a Principals Perceive the Roles Played by their Mentors in their Career? reflects her long-standing commitment to mentoring. As a past CALSA mentee and current CLEAR mentor, Dr. Guerra fully appreciates the nexus between mentor and mentee, as well as the potential that mentorship has to impact lives and career trajectories.
Jane Patterson, Ed.D. – Director, Equity Division
Jane is an entrepreneurial education leader who has dedicated her professional life to improving opportunities for students and educators so that they may achieve their aspirations. Her first question is: Where are the roadblocks to personal fulfillment and how can we remove them? Often, the barriers are structural, sometimes they are cultural, and occasionally they stem from a lack of knowledge or information. Jane has spent the last twenty-two years working with education leaders to develop solutions to the challenges that are hindering their success.
Jane has worked with education thought leaders to develop and implement 11 innovative, student-centered schools. She has been a leader in bringing arts education and experiences to some of LA’s most neglected communities. She launched the West Coast office of Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto’s Exploring the Arts, and she collaborated with the presidents of CalArts and the Huntington to launch the Arts Consortium to expand opportunities for all children in LA County. Jane and her long-time business partner created learning software that helped 75,000 first-generation students write analytical arguments in preparation for post-secondary learning. Currently, Jane is a Senior Director at Thrively, a strengths-based learning journey that ensures that every child’s internal assets are known and valued.
On a personal level, Jane is a passionate CLEAR board member who has seen the vital importance of amplifying the diversity of voices in education and deepening the leadership bench so that all leaders can thrive. Jane enjoys competitive paddling, loves the outdoors, has experienced cultures around the globe, and is an arts enthusiast.
Mahmoud Suleiman, Ph.D. – Director, Research Division and Editor of the Journal of Leadership, Equity and Research
Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman is a professor of teacher education at California State University, Bakersfield. He earned his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 1993. He previously taught at the Maricopa Community College District, AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe; and Fort Hays State University, KS. He joined CSUB in 1999 and has taught a variety of credential and graduate courses in the areas of multiculturalism, reading/literacy, action research, instructional leadership, second language acquisition, standard-based education reform, among others. He also published extensively in some of these areas. His current research foci include equityand social justice, cultural proficiencyand multicutrual literacy, and global education inititatives among others. During his tenure at CSUB, he served as Director of the Multiple Subject Credential Program and as Chair of the Teacher Education Department as well as Chair of the Advanced Educational Studies. He is a Fulbright Scholar (2009/2010) and completed his residency at the Bahrain Teachers College, University of Bahrain, Bahrain, as well as Fulbright Scholar (2016/2017) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Teachers’ Training, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
Leadership Team
Kenneth Magdaleno, Ed.D. – Founder/CEO
Dr. Kenneth Magdaleno is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research (CLEAR). CLEAR’s primary goal is the development of social justice educational leaders through mentoring using Paulo Freire’s Praxis, or “Intentional Activism.” Other goals include addressing discipline and equity issues throughout the educational system while researching the impact of positive leadership models on underrepresented groups. Dr. Magdaleno earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA and also holds a master’s degree in counseling and guidance and a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from California Lutheran University. His primary research interests are areas of equity, critical race theory, social justice, leadership mentoring and developing educational leaders of color.
Dr. Rosa Guerra – Director,
Social Justice Leadership Mentoring Program
A daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, Dr. Rosa Guerra was born and raised in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. As such, she is committed to ensuring equity and access for all children. Dr. Guerra has worked in the field of education since 1994. She began her career as a school office manager, then elementary school teacher, assistant principal and has been an elementary school administrator since 2005. She has also taught graduate students as an adjunct professor for Point Loma of the Nazarene University.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, San Bernardino, and a Master’s and Ed.D. degree from Azusa Pacific University. Her doctoral dissertation entitled, Mentoring of Second-Generation Latino/a Principals: How Do Second-Generation Latino/a Principals Perceive the Roles Played by their Mentors in their Career? reflects her long-standing commitment to mentoring. As a past CALSA mentee and current CLEAR mentor, Dr. Guerra fully appreciates the nexus between mentor and mentee, as well as the potential that mentorship has to impact lives and career trajectories.
Jane Patterson, Ed.D. – Director,
Equity Division
Jane is an entrepreneurial education leader who has dedicated her professional life to improving opportunities for students and educators so that they may achieve their aspirations. Her first question is: Where are the roadblocks to personal fulfillment and how can we remove them? Often, the barriers are structural, sometimes they are cultural, and occasionally they stem from a lack of knowledge or information. Jane has spent the last twenty-two years working with education leaders to develop solutions to the challenges that are hindering their success.
Jane has worked with education thought leaders to develop and implement 11 innovative, student-centered schools. She has been a leader in bringing arts education and experiences to some of LA’s most neglected communities. She launched the West Coast office of Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto’s Exploring the Arts, and she collaborated with the presidents of CalArts and the Huntington to launch the Arts Consortium to expand opportunities for all children in LA County. Jane and her long-time business partner created learning software that helped 75,000 first-generation students write analytical arguments in preparation for post-secondary learning. Currently, Jane is a Senior Director at Thrively, a strengths-based learning journey that ensures that every child’s internal assets are known and valued.
On a personal level, Jane is a passionate CLEAR board member who has seen the vital importance of amplifying the diversity of voices in education and deepening the leadership bench so that all leaders can thrive. Jane enjoys competitive paddling, loves the outdoors, has experienced cultures around the globe, and is an arts enthusiast.
Mahmoud Suleiman, Ph.D. – Director, Research Division and
Editor of the Journal of Leadership, Equity and Research
Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman is a professor of teacher education at California State University, Bakersfield. He earned his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 1993. He previously taught at the Maricopa Community College District, AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe; and Fort Hays State University, KS. He joined CSUB in 1999 and has taught a variety of credential and graduate courses in the areas of multiculturalism, reading/literacy, action research, instructional leadership, second language acquisition, standard-based education reform, among others. He also published extensively in some of these areas. His current research foci include equityand social justice, cultural proficiencyand multicutrual literacy, and global education inititatives among others. During his tenure at CSUB, he served as Director of the Multiple Subject Credential Program and as Chair of the Teacher Education Department as well as Chair of the Advanced Educational Studies. He is a Fulbright Scholar (2009/2010) and completed his residency at the Bahrain Teachers College, University of Bahrain, Bahrain, as well as Fulbright Scholar (2016/2017) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Teachers’ Training, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
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