Your SEAL Team

Jennifer has over 12 years of experience in early literacy education, and a deep commitment to English Learners. Her work began in a Title 1 TK-6 school in Oak Grove School District as a trained SEAL classroom teacher. There she noted high-level engagement, profound oral academic language development, a newfound confidence among her students, and strong school to family partnerships. This experience ignited her passion to reach and advocate for more students on a grander scale.

Karen joined SEAL with over 30 years of experience working with teachers to provide high-quality early education to under-served students within Long Beach Unified School District Head Start. She is committed to equity-minded education and is passionate about collaborating with educators and school leaders to support dual language learners and align learning from preschool and beyond to impact all students socially and academically.

Jennifer joined the SEAL team in 2021 as a Program Specialist. After working as a publicist, Jennifer embarked on her second career in education after receiving her Teaching Credential and MA in Education. Jennifer comes to SEAL from Fillmore Unified School District where she taught 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th grade SEAL classrooms. Through her work as a Teacher Induction Mentor and grade level team lead, she discovered her passion of supporting teachers in their work to empower English Learners while fostering students critical thinking skills.

Adriana comes to SEAL with over 20 years of experience in education. She has served as a community coordinator, Spanish bilingual teacher from elementary through high school, academic counselor, and professor of communications for over seven years. Her work with English Learners has motivated her to make strong critical thinkers of her students and help them see the value they bring with their first language.

Joanna’s experience in education began as a Peace Corps teacher in a small, trilingual city in Nicaragua. Seeing her Miskito-speaking students struggle with Spanish sparked a passion for supporting language learners. Joanna taught 2nd, 3rd and 7th grades in New York City, taught writing to first-generation college students in Mississippi, and college-level literature classes in California.

Katie Mlakar joins the SEAL team with ten years of teaching experience in the Oak Grove School District. She has taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and is passionate about providing a meaningful classroom experience for second language learners. She feels an urgency to be a part of the expansion of the SEAL program in order to empower teachers and students.

Patricia has been a SEAL trainer since 2013. She has worked in education for more than 15 years. Throughout her career, Patricia has worked with hundreds of teachers, providing professional development and classroom support. She specializes in curriculum design.

Molly joined the SEAL team in August 2022 and was a SEAL Coach Facilitator for 3 years in San Lorenzo and brings over 10 years of experience working with diverse learners. She has experience teaching ELD for newcomers, as well as classroom instruction for grades K-2. Molly is passionate about supporting multilingual learners with a focus on equity and efficacy.

Cindy joined the SEAL team in August 2022 and is an award-winning bilingual social justice advocate with 6 years of teaching experience in diverse socio-economic communities. She earned her Master of Arts in Education degree from Point Loma Nazarene University and her Bachelor of Arts in Business degree from California State University Bakersfield.

Cory has spent the past 20 years examining nonviolence, community building, youth development, play and restorative justice. This work has included directing a community-based youth leadership program, teaching women and girls self-defense, developing sports-based youth development curricula and being part of a community effort to introduce Bay Area schools to restorative justice.

Ashleigh Williams worked as a Spanish DI K-2 teacher for five years in Redwood City and Salinas before joining the SEAL team. Her bilingual, English and Italian, upbringing are natural sources for her profound value, respect, and honor for home languages and their place in a classroom setting.