Faculty Council

Dr. Katherine Sciurba is Associate Professor of Literacy Education with San Diego State’s School of Teacher Education. 

Julee Bauer is a full-time lecturer in the School of Education at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she co-coordinates the multiple subject credential program. She teaches literacy and social studies methods courses, and her research interests include bilingual education and culturally responsive teaching. 

Dr. Allison Briceño is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at San José State University, where she coordinates the Multilingual and Multicultural Literacy Education MA program. Her research explores the rich literacy practices of multilingual students and linguistically and culturally sustaining pedagogies.

Maxine Carlson, a RICA specialist and faculty member with CalStateTEACH, supports teacher candidates and Induction programs. Trained as a Reading Recovery interventionist at Stanford University she is focused on literacy and English Language Development, viewing literacy as a civil right. An award winning author, Maxine strives to empower children through their unique story and voice.

Manuel Correia is a professor in the School of Education at Cal State Channel Islands.  He holds a doctorate in language, literacy and culture from the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Areas of research interest include integrating theories of literacy in service-learning contexts.  Formerly, Dr. Correia was a second grade bilingual Spanish teacher in Central California.

Dr. Isauro M. Escamilla is Assistant Professor in the Elementary Education Department at San Francisco State University where he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on children’s language development in multilingual settings; teacher inquiry in early childhood education; and more recently, language arts and Spanish Heritage Language. He has authored articles and book chapters on teacher action research  supporting emergent bilingual children across the curriculum.  

Dr. Kelly M. Estrada is Professor of Education in the Literacy Studies & Elementary Education (LSEE) Department at Sonoma State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Education, with a specialization in Administration, Curriculum & Teaching Studies, from UCLA. Her areas of expertise are language acquisition, literacy development and the integration of technology in instruction. Dr. Estrada serves as Co-PI/Project Director for the Preparing Underrepresented Educators to Realize their Teaching Ambitions (PUERTA). 

Noah Asher Golden is an Associate Professor of Secondary Teacher Education at California State University, Long Beach. His research is grounded in literacy practices and identities, and is situated within critical and sociocultural approaches to literacies scholarship. He teaches courses on Secondary Literacy and Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Pedagogy.

Dr. Dominic Grasso is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary Education at California State University, Northridge. 

Dr. Kristina LaGue is a Professor of Teacher Education at California State University, Bakersfield. In her 20+ years as a faculty member at CSU Bakersfield, she has held many leadership positions including Department Chair of Teacher Education, Director of Multiple Subject Credential Program, and Coordinator of the M.A. in Education and the Reading/Literacy Added Authorization Programs. Her research interests include literacy-focused teacher preparation that promotes just and equitable classrooms for diverse students, families and communities.

Dr. Lasisi Ajayi is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Foundations at California State University San Bernardino.  

Jamie Marsh is Associate Professor of Literacy Education at Cal State LA. She teaches literacy leadership and methods courses in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction. Her research involves studying students’ processes as writers and the literacy practices teachers enact that are youth-centered and equity-oriented in K-12 and teacher education.

Dr. Madeleine Mejia is an Assistant Professor at the California State University Fullerton in the College of Education. She teaches courses that focus on diagnosing and re-mediating students' reading and writing needs; critical literacy; diversity and critical self-reflective practices. Her research interests include making space for students’ voice in the learning and teaching process; teachers’ roles and active agency in professional development/ inquiry into professional practice; critical literacy and equity education.

Dr. Marcy Merrill is the chair of the graduate program in Language and Literacy in the School of Education at California State University, Sacramento. She teaches graduate students and preservice English teachers. She taught high school English for 12 years before becoming a professor. Dr. Merrill has been a member of the leadership team for the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum since 2005 and serves as director of the College and Career Readiness Center at CSUS. 

Dr. Lyn Scott is an Associate Professor at California State University East Bay in the Teacher Education Department. 

Susan Porter has over 30 years of experience in education as a special educator in public schools and private clinic settings, and as a program consultant at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Dr. Porter is currently an Associate Professor at CSU, Dominguez Hills. Her research focuses on secondary literacy interventions and teacher preparation for teaching literacy.

Dr. Derek R. Riddle is a faculty member at CSU, Stanislaus and co-coordinator for the Single Subject Credential Program. He is also the accreditation coordinator for the College of Education at his campus. Dr. Riddle teaches the literacy methods courses for single subject credential candidates, and his research interest related to literacy focuses on navigating teacher religious beliefs with their use of contemporary young adult literature in the classroom.

Dr. Erin Whitney is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at California State University, Chico. She teaches courses and advises students in special education and literacy. Her research focuses on inclusive practices for students with disabilities, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, and support for LGBTQ+ students. She is a co-PI on the CSU Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs (CTEPP) grant and on a federal SEED grant, the NorCal GREAT Teachers Pipeline.

Dr. Joanna Wong is Associate Professor in Elementary Education in the College of Education at CSU Monterey Bay. Her teaching and research interests include culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy pedagogy and teacher education to serve ethnically diverse and multilingual learners. 

Christiane Wood, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at California State University San Marcos. Dr. Wood is the Co-coordinator of the Multiple Subject and Master of Arts Reading, Language, and Literacy Programs. Some of Dr. Wood's scholarly interests include early childhood literacy, new literacies,  play/tinkering, arts integration, STEAM + Literacy, social justice, and educational leadership for change. Dr. Wood teaches in the Multiple Subject Teacher Preparation and the Master of Arts in Reading, Language, and Literacy Programs. 

Dr. Peter Olson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Integrative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona.

Dr. Marisol Ruiz is a Professor in the School of Education at Cal Poly Humboldt. She is the co-author of Mirrored Repressions: Students and inmates in a colonial landscape (Journal of Critical Education, 2018, 9(7), 1-23) and Becoming Math-lingual: An exploration of MALITLA model for improving mathematical vocabulary (Journal of Mathematics Education, 2022, 15(1), 16-34). She has also created a free, critical, multicultural and ethnic studies literacy curriculum for teachers on the CA NAME website in 2020-2021.  Dr. Ruiz is also the co-editor of Courageous Cuentos: A journal of counternarratives Volume 4 (2021) and Volume 5 (2022).

Dr. Imelda Basurto is a Professor in the Department of Literacy, Early Education, Bilingual & Special Education at Fresno State University.