Kayla McKeever
Administrative Coordinator, Educator and Leadership Programs
Kayla McKeever is the administrative support coordinator for the Department of Educator and Leadership Programs. She provides essential administrative, fiscal, and technical support for the department. Prior to joining the CSU, Kayla worked as an administrator at CF Acquisitions. She also has worked as a freelance writer and as a social media manager for Yaah! Beauty, Health and Lifestyle. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Cal State Long Beach.
Fred Uy
Director, Educator and Leadership Programs
Co-Director,
Center for the Advancement of Instruction in Quantitative Reasoning
Dr. Fred Uy serves both as a Director in the Department of Educator Preparation and Public School Programs and Co-Director for the Center for the Advancement of Instruction in Quantitative Reasoning. Before joining the Office of the Chancellor, Dr. Uy was a Professor of Mathematics Education at Cal State LA and a K-12 mathematics teacher. In this position, he will be responsible in overseeing and increasing the capacity of the department to provide leadership and support to the educator preparation programs on campuses across the CSU. He has contributed to CSU initiatives in secondary school teacher mathematics preparation as a trainer for the EAP in Mathematics and as a leader in the CSU M-TEP. Dr. Uy also has served as a mathematics consultant for school districts and publishers and has conducted numerous professional development trainings in topics like mathematics pedagogy, teaching mathematics to ELs, assessments, Linked Learning, arts integration, and bilingual education.
Hilary Seitz
Director, Educator and Leadership Programs
Dr. Seitz is director in the Department of Educator and Leadership Programs. She oversees the CSU’s efforts to develop and support early learning and the new PK-3 Early Childhood Education credential programs, coordinates educator preparation efforts with CSU undergraduate programs including Liberal Studies, Integrated Teacher Education Programs, Child Development, and dual enrollment programs, and serves as the primary point of contact with our Community Colleges with an emphasis on related ADT/TMC patterns. Dr. Seitz comes to the CSU Chancellor’s Office from the University of Alaska at Anchorage, where she has held several faculty and administrative positions. She came to the University with 17 years of early childhood teaching experience from infant/toddler/preschool classrooms, public Pre-K and primary grades. A proud Chico State graduate, Dr. Seitz is a passionate early childhood educator, an advocate for young children and their families, a creative thinker, a scholar, and a maker.
Ernest Black, Ph.D.
Systemwide Director,
CalStateTEACH
Dr. Ernest Black is the Statewide Director of the CalStateTEACH Program. Dr. Black has an outstanding teacher preparation background, having received his Master’s Degree in Education from National University and his Doctorate Degree in Education with an emphasis in Urban Education from the University of Southern California. Prior to his appointment as Systemwide Director, Dr. Black served as the Regional Director for the Southern Region of CalStateTEACH for the past six years. There, he provided leadership to the full range of online teacher preparation programs that CalStateTEACH has to offer. He has played a key role in liaising between CalStateTEACH and CSU Los Angeles & CSU Fullerton. He has worked with the Colleges of Education at both sites and developed partnership opportunities with them in the areas of PK-12 reforms, alternative certification pathways, induction programs, professional development, technology, and recruitment strategies.
Dejon Brown
Technology Support Specialist,
CalStateTEACH
Dejon is technology support specialist for Cal State Teach, a program that prepares students to become successful teachers in California. He supports the team and works to develop a more seamless, reliable application for students.
Araceli Esparza
Systemwide Program Analyst, CalStateTEACH
Araceli Esparza has more than 15 years professional experience in higher education working within student programs under state or federal funding, including10 years at the Chancellor’s Office working as the program coordinator for several initiatives including the CalMHSA grant, which focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, and the Basic Needs grant, which provided support to students experiencing food and housing insecurity. She has extensive experience in coordinated meetings, trainings and conferences and strengthening working relationships with diverse campus community groups. In her spare time, she likes reading books or watching movies, taking scenic drives while blasting music, and on occasions, she enjoys, traveling abroad and learning new languages.
Julio Esparza
Curriculum Specialist,
CalStateTEACH
Julio Esparza is the curriculum specialist for the CalStateTEACH program, where he analyzes and reviews the curriculum of the fully online teacher credentialing program. He also works with CalStateTEACH’s directors, finance, tech, curriculum and administrative teams to keep the program running smoothly.
Zulmara Cline, Ph.D.
Systemwide Director, California Academic Partnership Program, CAPP
Co-Director, Center for the Advancement of Instruction in Quantitative Reasoning (CAIQR)
Dr. Zulmara Cline is the Statewide Director of the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP). CAPP is an intersegmental program working with the three segments of higher education and the K-12 system. Under Dr. Cline’s leadership, CAPP has launched two grants: the CAPP Demonstration Project, which helps schools build post-secondary partnerships, and College Going Culture Grant, which helps schools develop a college-going culture. CAPP is also responsible for the Math Diagnostic Testing Project, an intersegmental collaborative effort that has been developing diagnostic tests for more than 30 years. Prior to joining the Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Cline was a professor at CSU San Marcos.
Daba Asemebo, MHA
Senior Manager,
CAPP
Daba Asemebo is the Senior Manager of the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP). CAPP is an intersegmental program working with the three segments of higher education and the K-12 system in California. She works closely with the CAPP Statewide Director to coordinate functions of the department. Prior to joining CAPP in 2014, Daba served in various positions within the Educator Preparation and Public School Programs (EPPSP) such as the Administrative Support Coordinator to the Assistant Vice Chancellor; the Program Coordinator for Governor's Teaching Fellowship Program; the System-wide Coordinator/Program Analyst for CalstateTEACH Program. In 2002, Daba was awarded the Chancellor’s Office Service Teamwork Achievement Recognition, “COSTAR” award.
Emil Bautista
Fiscal and Grants Manager,
CAPP
Emil Bautista is the Fiscal and Grants Manager for California Academic Partnership Program. Emil supports the administrative and fiscal management of all CAPP programs and grant projects. She acts as CAPP’s primary contact person for all inquiries. Before joining CAPP, Emil worked as Accounts Payable Technician, processing payments for the Office of the Chancellor, Foundation and Institute accounts as well as monitoring daily ACH/EFT reconciliations and monthly Airfare/Car rental reconciliations.
Cyndi Paik
Co-Director,
CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing
Dr. Cyndi Paik is the co-director of the CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing (CAR/W). Cyndi provides leadership and support to CSU education programs in the area of literacy. She directs statewide academic preparation efforts to ensure literacy development of California’s PK-12 students, facilitating their success in college. This includes providing leadership and overall administration of the CSU college preparatory Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC). Cyndi is an experienced educational leader with a strong background in PK-12 public schools. She has served in various roles including as a teacher, literacy coach, principal, and most recently as a superintendent. With a passion for improving education and empowering students, she has dedicated her career to creating positive change in the educational system. Her expertise is in the areas of leadership, curriculum development, and strategic planning. Cyndi has also worked in higher education settings as an adjunct faculty, supporting doctoral dissertations and serving as a leadership coach for educators in PK-12 public schools. Her commitment to continuous learning and development leads her to promote innovative programs and services in the field of education.
Dr. Tanya Flushman, Ph.D.
Co-Director,
CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing
Dr. Tanya Flushman, Associate Professor in the School of Education at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, co-directs the CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing. Her areas of expertise are early literacy development, clinical teacher preparation and disciplinary literacy teaching and learning. Her recent grants emphasize partnering with school districts to transform teacher preparation and teaching disciplinary literacy in science in elementary schools. Tanya taught elementary school in the California Bay Area and in Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Flushman coordinates and teaches in the MA Curriculum and Instruction program at Cal Poly, SLO.
Kia Ross
Program Analyst,
CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing
Kia Ross is the Program Analyst for the CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing (CAR/W). Kia supports the day-to-day operations of CAR/W, particularly with respect to data management related to professional learning for the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC), event coordination, communications, procurement, etc. Previously, Kia Ross served as the administrative support coordinator supporting the Assistant Vice Chancellor and others on the Educator and Leadership programs team. Before moving to ELP, Kia served as the administrative assistant for CSU International Programs. She is also a product of the CSU, having earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from CSULB. Kia’s interests include social activism.
Stephanie Persico
Administrative Analyst,
CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing
Stephanie Persico provides fiscal and budget support for CAR/W. She is an administrative professional with 12 years of higher education experience across the areas of academic affairs, advising, learning and test administration. She previously served as testing coordinator at CSU Dominguez Hills where she was integral in establishing the Testing Center as a College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP) test center and achieving a five-year certification through the National College Testing Association (NCTA) for the Toro Learning & Testing Center. Stephanie led a team of proctors composed of students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members. Since 2011, this diverse group has administered over 70,000 examinations to Cal State students and the greater Los Angeles community. Stephanie is a proud product of the CSU and a passionate Toro for life.
Paul Tuss, Ph.D.
Director,
Educator Quality Center
Dr. Paul Tuss is director of the CSU Educator Quality Center. The center develops and manages EdQ DataView, a data warehouse and dashboard reporting system designed to support a culture of data sharing and continuous improvement for CSU educator preparation. Dr. Tuss also coordinates the center’s statewide surveys of first-year CSU teaching graduates and their employment supervisors. He has held positions with the Sacramento County Office of Education, San Juan Unified School District, Westat, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is a past president of the California Educational Research Association and an alumnus of the Strategic Data Project at Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research.
Educator Preparation Data Scientist,
Educator Quality Center
Jimmy Luong is a Data Scientist for EdQ who was recruited through Harvard's Strategic Data Project fellowship. At EdQ, Jimmy leads the team's Teacher Prep Data Model implementation project. Prior to the fellowship, Jimmy was an Action Works Data Analyst at Patagonia. His work consisted of supporting grant-making efforts, improving the Action Works data infrastructure, and representing the Action Works team in a new customer relationship management system overhaul. At the Scottish Funding Council Jimmy worked as a Policy and Data Analyst where he analyzed higher education data. His interest in education stems from a desire to improve our education systems so that next generations can thrive. Jimmy earned a master's of science in Civil Engineering from UCLA and a bachelor's of science in Environmental Engineering from UC San Diego.
Educator Preparation Data Coach,
Educator Quality Center
Dr. Ginger Simon is Educator Preparation Data Coach for EdQ. Ginger has extensive experience in K-12 school reform, specializing in educator quality and continuous improvement. In her recent experience as Director of Professional Capital for CORE Districts and Senior Associate for FourPoint Education Partners, she facilitated networks of educators in building consensus and creating systems for continuous improvement. As EdQ Data Coach, she works to help both individual CSU educator preparation programs as well as networks of CSU campus leaders to use data available through the EdQ DataView Dashboard and other sources, helping them to reach their program improvement goals. Ginger holds both master's and doctoral degrees in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kemi Suleiman
Educator Preparation Support Analyst,
Educator Quality Center
Kemi Suleiman is the Educator Preparation Analyst for EdQ. She assists the department with survey coordination and administration; data management, analysis, and reporting; and administrative support. Kemi has a great passion for education with experience in PK-12 and higher education. At CSU, Dominguez Hills, Kemi coordinated the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) that sets national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. In her previous role as Management Information & School Data Manager at GEMS Education, Dubai, she led the planning, development, design, organization, and monitoring of the Management Information System (MIS). Kemi holds M.Ed from CSU, Dominguez Hills and an MBA from University of Wolverhampton, UK.