Keynote Speakers

Chris Badillo (he/him) is EJA’s Policy Director and a committed education justice advocate. Originally from Miami, Florida, Chris’ experiences in Miami-Dade County Public Schools instilled him with a passion for ensuring all communities—especially working communities and communities of color like his—are afforded the high quality, public education they deserve. He first began organizing as a sophomore in high school following the Parkland shooting, focusing on bringing the voices of young people to the policy-making table. From there, he became deeply involved and invested in school board governance, being elected as Miami-Dade’s Student Advisor to the School Board. He then went on to serve as a Policy and Outreach Lead for the Luisa Santos for School Board, District 9 campaign, working to expand equity-oriented leadership on the board. Following the election, he served as Administrative Assistant to School Board Member Luisa Santos, working on policies and programs to better support Miami’s various communities. In his time in the office, he supported the creation of a student fellowship within the office to expose young people to the school board and worked on items focusing on postsecondary access for undocumented students and renewable energy. Chris served as the Program Director for EJA’s first two cohorts and now focuses on expanding EJA’s reach and community, developing a community of practice on education justice issues. In his free time, Chris enjoys constantly consuming coffee, cooking Nicaraguan food, and being with his three dogs.

Briana Mullen has worked as a state policymaker, community organizer, and educational advocate for the past 15 years to ensure the most vulnerable children have access to a liberatory education and healthy communities. Raised in the Bay Area, she is a first generation college student and has master’s degrees in policy, organization, and leadership studies at Stanford Graduate School of Education and in public policy from the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. She is a 2020 Knight-Hennessy Scholar and was selected as the first ever Stanford Global Impact Award winner in 2023. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where she studied in History, Education and City Planning. She has served as a board member for the Sacramento Children’s Commission, Torlakson Whole Child Institute, and Associated Students of the University of California. She is currently the co-founder and Executive Director of the Education Justice Academy, which seeks to support school governance leaders in transformative educational justice initiatives.