At the heart of what I do — as a researcher, writer, teacher, and dreamer—is a relentless pursuit of freedom and justice.
In my work studying and designing better approaches to teaching and learning, my scholarship actively works toward centering joy in classrooms. I have been fortunate to have these efforts recognized as important contributions to the field of education.
As an associate professor at Stanford University, I am recognized as one of the leading voices shaping the landscape of U.S. public education. I regularly deliver keynotes for teachers and other educational researchers and have written op-eds about education for places like The Washington Post and Education Week.
As a former English teacher at a public high school in South Central Los Angeles, my work regularly inspires classroom teachers. When the pandemic forced many of us to meet with students and colleagues via videoconferencing software, I co-led weekly gatherings for the National Council of Teachers of English for a year and half. These events provided a refuge for teachers to process the feelings and hardships they endured during the pandemic.
My research has focused on play, civics, justice, and imagination. The words I commit to the page are an intentional call to center historically underrepresented voices in academia and in civic life. This means engaging in research alongside young people, teachers, and BIPOC educators that are otherwise written about rather than written with.
Based on my work, I co-designed the Critical Design and Gaming School—a public high school in Los Angeles. The ideas that underlie this school are detailed in my 2017 academic book, Good Reception: Teens, Teachers, & Mobile Media in a Los Angeles High School. This is one of more than a dozen books I’ve written or edited about the possibilities of imagination, play, and civics in transforming schooling in America.
I spent two years serving as a classroom ambassador for the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Arne Duncan and have taken numerous leadership roles with organizations including the National Writing Project and the National Academy of Education. My research has been funded by varied organizations including the Spencer Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the George Lucas Educational Research Foundation.
I come from a family of educators and activists. My mother was a public school teacher for three decades and my father was an actor and an artist working with Chicano teatros committed to social justice movements in California. Making this world a safer and more joyful world for my twin daughters is at the heart of how I approach research and writing.