Anthony Alston, Ed.D., joined The Leadership Academy in 2021 as a National Designer and Facilitator. In this role, Anthony supports the development and delivery of professional development centered around equity and culturally responsive practices. Prior to joining The Leadership Academy, Anthony worked in the Anne Arundel County Public School system for 24 years. In that time, he served in a variety of roles, including assistant principal and principal as district Equity Officer and Assistant Superintendent. In all of his previous positions, he focused his efforts on supporting teachers, administrators and central office leaders to develop and implement school improvement structures, strategies and practices that eliminated gaps and centered around culturally proficient and anti-racist practices. Since joining The Leadership Academy, Anthony has partnered with school systems in Bridgeport, CT; Hartford, CT; Portland, OR and Los Angeles, CA. Anthony holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Special Education from Hampton University; an M.A. in School Administration and Supervision from Morgan State University; and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Maryland at College Park. Anthony lives near Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife and two sons.
Professor Kamphaus is the Acting Executive Director of the Ballmer Institute and outgoing Dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He previously served as Dean of the College of Education at Georgia State University and distinguished research professor at the University of Georgia.
Professor Kamphaus’ research program has been devoted to clinical test development, behavioral health assessment and diagnostic practice, primarily in the Americas and in Spain. He has authored or co-authored 11 books, 90 journal articles, and 56 book chapters on these topics, created 13 psychological and educational tests and technology applications and holds one patent. His best-known test development effort is the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; now in its third edition, with Emeritus Professor Cecil Reynolds of Texas A & M University), which is the most widely used children’s behavioral health assessment system in the United States, and increasingly, internationally. The BASC has been translated and adapted for use in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Romania, and Korea, among other countries.
His current work employs universal screening measures in schools to identify children with early indications of behavioral and emotional risk, provide surveillance information for deploying social-emotional learning and targeted interventions, and monitoring children’s behavioral health status. His research has been funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Education and its Institute of Education Sciences.
Professor Kamphaus has conducted training and delivered invited addresses for numerous professional societies and organizations, including the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, the National Psychological Association of Mexico and Canada, the Universities of Complutense and Barcelona, and the Division of Pediatrics of Children’s National Hospital. He has received career research awards from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association, the University of Georgia, and Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru, among others.
An elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Professor Kamphaus is a licensed psychologist who has served in numerous professional psychology leadership roles, including editor of School Psychology, member of the APA Council of Representatives and Board of Professional Affairs, and President of the Division of School Psychology.
Atika Khurana’s research examines the development of self-regulation in childhood and adolescence, the timing and impact of environmental influences (e.g., parenting, socioeconomic disadvantage), and how individual differences in self-regulation predict long-term academic and behavioral outcomes. The ultimate goal of this line of research is to advance the development of targeted interventions that can reduce disparities in self-regulation, and promote positive developmental outcomes. Another strand of her research focuses on understanding the impact of screen-based media on children’s attention, self-regulation, sleep, and other health outcomes. Her research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Julie Wren has been with the College of Education at the University of Oregon since 2015. As the assistant dean for accreditation and academic operations, Julie has been integral to enhancing the college’s accreditation and assessment infrastructure, increasing access and utilization of academic data, and supporting new academic initiatives. Julie successfully led the college through its inaugural national accreditation bid resulting in an official commendation for the college’s engagement in continuous improvement and persistent investigation of opportunities for innovation. Externally, Julie has partnered across her tenure with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission on policies to improve the diversity and cultural competence of the educator workforce. Prior to joining the University of Oregon, Julie worked in institutional research at the University of Illinois at Chicago as the associate director of data analytics in the Office of Institutional Research. Julie completed her undergraduate and master’s level training in psychology and holds a PhD in research methodology from Loyola University Chicago.
Executive Director, Black Parent Initiative
Bahia Overton holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Social Work. She is completing her Ph.D. in Social Work Research, focusing on the experiences of African American female adolescents in foster care.
Ms. Overton most recently served as the Director of Equity and Partnerships at the Chalkboard Project. She is also the Executive Consultant for Joy DeGruy Publications. She assists Dr. DeGruy in researching historical trauma and developing new models and methods for culturally responsive service delivery. Ms. Overton has also assisted with training and development for government agencies in creating and sustaining equitable policies and practices.
With over 14 years of practical experience as a professional in the field of social work, she has served as Child and Family Therapist, Curriculum Developer and Culturally-Specific Treatment Specialist in several states, with various community based organizations and government entities. Ms. Overton serves on the following Boards and Councils: College Possible, Oregon Student Voice, Organic Oneness and Oregon Educator Equity Advisory Group
Director of In-School Programs, Self Enhancement, Inc.
Tamra Hickok is a Youth Services Director of In-School Programs who proudly leads with her heart as she focuses on bettering the lives of youth in her community, no matter how far it stretches or changes. Tamra desires for every young person to believe in themselves and to dare to dream of the life they want, not the one their circumstances have written for them. After spending her first 18 years at Self Enhancement on the front lines of servicing students and families, she moved into management and eventually becoming a Director. She now works to spread the mission, purpose, and services of Self Enhancement to communities and school districts where students of color are impacted, underserved and underrepresented.
Born and raised in North East Portland, Tamra is a product of the community she loves. She earned the Employee of the year in 2007, the first year of its making. Having been a high school and collegiate athlete, playing basketball, volleyball and softball; she has run the Self Enhancement Girls basketball camps since she started at SEI in 1996, using basketball to teach many life lessons. There she works to empower and encourage young ladies to reach their full potential, live boldly, and to not wait their turn, GO GET IT!
Tamra holds a BA in Psychology and a certificate of Social services from Lewis and Clark of Portland and an AA degree of Social Services from Lower Columbia CC of Longview, Washington.
Youth Programs Supervisor, IRCO
Andrew has worked in IRCO’s school linked youth programs for over a decade, supporting African Immigrant/Refugee, Latinx, Slavic and Eastern European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Pacific Islander youth and families in a variety of classroom and non-traditional settings. He supervises IRCO’s four RESJ programs at 14 schools in PPS, as well as Upward Bound and RISE at David Douglas HS, and the Slavic SUN Youth Advocacy program in Reynolds, Parkrose, and David Douglas School Districts. He has a Master of Arts in English
Director of Youth and Family Services, NAYA Family Center
Daniel is Seneca from the Allegany reservation in Western New York, and brings over 20 years of experience working in education and nonprofits with economically and culturally diverse populations. Having also worked in the NAYA Many Nations Academy with youth of color and their families, as a Health and Wellness Coordinator, and as a former Youth Advocate at NAYA, Daniel has extensive experience helping youth and families navigate school systems and building successful relationships and partnerships on local, state, and district levels.
Program Manager, Educational Access Programs, Latino Network
Marlene Lopez Patton began her career as an Office Coordinator in the Multicultural Student Services and Programs department at Western Oregon University. Her experience being a first-generation student and working in a department with first-generation, low-income, and culturally specific students has developed into continuing to support students of color and underrepresented populations. After 3 years in the Office Specialist role, Marlene transitioned to a Youth Engagement Specialist at Roosevelt high school with Latino Network where she was able to provide direct service to students in 11th and 12th grade. There she learned about new experiences students were facing within the education system and ways to navigate and support them. She continued her development by implementing a Summer Bridge program to recently graduated seniors to support them throughout the summer. This new addition to our services helped bridge the gap and provided a better transition and expectation of first year students. After 3 years of the Youth Engagement Specialist role, Marlene transitioned to her current position as a Program Manager with Latino Network in the Educational Access Program department.
Marlene holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in communications from WOU and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from PSU.
Marlene grew up in Gresham, OR and both parents are from Mexico and is the oldest of 3 and has two nieces and a nephew. She lives with her husband and two dogs. For fun, Marlene enjoys spending time with my family and friends either watching movies, hiking, reading, or BBQing.
Director, Community Engagement & Leadership Development, Latino Network
Ana has been at Latino Network for over eight years. Her most recent role is Director of Community Engagement & Leadership Development. She oversees the SOL program under strategy 5 of the RESJ PPS contract. Her work is grounded in culturally specific practices that enable youth and families to reach their full potential. She has led efforts where she implemented best practices for successful parent engagement, such as: Popular Education, culturally & linguistic approaches, intentional relation building, and established effective communication channels. Her work as an advocate and activist for social justice transcends through compassion, unity, and acceptance.
SUN Service System Program Supervisor
Walter Rodriguez has been working in the SUN world for almost 10 years. Walter currently is the Program Supervisor for the SUN Service System at Multnomah County. Recently he worked as the Program Specialist for SUN Community Schools focusing on supporting family engagement strategies and collaboration between school districts and community organizations. Prior to working for Multnomah County, Walter worked at a non profit as a SUN Site Manager at an elementary school focusing on supporting families and providing enrichment activities to students.