Member Bios

Martinique Starnes, Ed.D. '15 is the Manager of Diversity, Outreach, and Community Development for the California Charter Schools Association. In her role, Dr. Starnes is responsible for creating and implementing strategies to improve the pipeline to school leadership for educators of color. With over 15 years in the field, Dr. Starnes understands the varied educational experiences of students of color including the educational inequities that continue to impact them. She is a champion for equity and inclusion and works tirelessly to ensure that diverse voices are included at all levels of the education space. Prior to her role at CCSA, she served for 10 years as the Dean of Counseling and Student Affairs at Verbum Dei High School, a Cristo Rey Network school located in the Watts community. She also serves as an adjunct professor of Communication Studies at Long Beach City College.   

Richard Ballesteros, M.A. ’12 is a Los Angeles native and first-generation college graduate who has served as a coach, educator, and mentor to high school and college students for the last fifteen years. He is an advocate for educating the whole person and for educational equity to give students the opportunity to thrive. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management to learn best practices on how to lead well and effectively attain organizational goals. Richard made a career change from retail management to education after having a realization when he volunteered to coach youth sports. He pursued studies in education to earn a Master of Arts in Education at Loyola Marymount University. Serving as director of religious education for youth and young adults, he rebuilt the program that fostered personal growth, developed leadership skills, and promoted a call to action in community service. His most valued lessons were experienced while volunteering with incarcerated youth in juvenile hall and guiding a youth leadership team. Richard continues to work towards creating safe learning spaces where students feel respected, accepted, included, and important. He enjoys hiking with his dog, spending time at the beach, and cooking for his family.   

Bio coming soon

Anne Scerbak '19, M.A. '20 graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2019 with a B.A. in Liberal Studies and again in 2020 with an M.A. in Educational Studies. Anne always dreamed of becoming an elementary school teacher and focused her passions by concentrating in Early Childhood Education and Literacy. She was also a member of Gryphon Circle, an LMU Service Organization with a focus on serving through education and social justice. While attending LMU, Anne was the 2019 School of Education Scholar, 2019 Elementary Education Program Scholar, and the 2019 recipient of the Cura Personalis Award from the Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation. She is also a member of the Kappa Delta Pi and Alpha Sigma Nu honors societies. Anne began her teaching career in 2019 and is currently a first grade teacher at Playa Vista Elementary.

Christina Brooks, M.A. ’17

Christina Brooks, M.A. '17, has worked in higher education and non-profits in various capacities for over a decade, including working in undergraduate admissions, international education, and marketing and communications. She is currently senior director for academic communications at LMU.

Christina was part of LMU's first Higher Education Administration M.A. program cohort and cherishes the experience and the opportunity to help provide insight and feedback to this incredible program. She received bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and public relations from the University of Texas at Austin, where her love of higher education was sparked as a peer advisor and tour guide in the Office of Admissions. Christina is passionate about access and inclusion in higher education and is a strong advocate for international education as a part of a well-rounded undergraduate experience.

Kathryn Anderson, MA ’10 currently serves as the Director of Planning and Operations at Lakeshore Learning Materials. In her role, Kathryn leads strategic planning and innovation for the Human Resources team as well as enterprise-level people operations projects and initiatives for the company. After earning her B.A. in art history from Vassar College, Kathryn started her career in education as a Teach For America Los Angeles corps member teaching 9th and 10th grade English at Frederick Douglass Academy High School. During this time she earned her Master’s in Urban Education with a focus on Administration and Policy at LMU School of Education. Her thesis focused on art education in the charter school setting.

After her corps service, Kathryn joined Teach For America Los Angeles regional staff where she served for 10 years. Her roles at TFA included leading alumni efforts in the region and managing the New Teacher Pathway team to select, recruit, and onboard over 160 corps members each year. In this role, she partnered closely with LMU SOE staff to ensure all corps members successfully completed enrollment and certification. As a Westchester resident, LMU’s campus is quite literally right next door, and Kathryn has enjoyed campus activities as both an alum and neighbor. On the weekends you’ll find her chasing her four-year-old daughter Rose and one-year-old son Thomas, and devouring a good book.

Alyssa Ascencio, M.A. '22, is a first-generation college graduate and Los Angeles native who earned her master's of arts in Higher Education Administration from LMU School of Education. She currently serves as part of the inaugural Young Adult Programming Advisory Council at Our Odyssey, a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting young adults impacted by a rare or chronic condition with social and emotional support in the hope of improving their quality of life. Alyssa’s professional passion is rooted in helping minority communities, working with diverse populations, and mitigating the factors behind their inter-sectional struggles. She strives to act as a change agent for marginalized students in higher education and bring equitable access to every student. In her free time, she enjoys horticulture, video games, and spending time with her bird Sky.

Jordan Baldry, M.A. ’21 is a graduate of LMU School of Education’s M.A. Program in Urban Education, with a concentration in Education Policy and Administration. He currently serves in two roles with the Los Angeles Unified School District. One of those roles is a Grade Five International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme instructor at Short Avenue Elementary School in the Del Rey Community. His other role is an instructor and curriculum developer for Los Angeles Unified School District’s Intern Credentialing and Added Authorization Program where he is currently adding the new California Reading and Literacy Standards to teacher preparation courses. Jordan’s professional passion is situated in literacy as a means to liberation for all students, especially for students who experience marginalization. In his free time, Jordan enjoys traveling, cooking, and anything that involves being outdoors and enjoying sunshine. 

Sharla Berry, PhD Master of Arts - Elementary Education, 2011

Sharla Berry, PhD graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in History (2009) and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education (2011).  Dr. Sharla Berry is an Assistant Professor of Education Leadership at California Lutheran University, and an expert in the field of digital equity and online learning. Her research has been featured in many academic journals including Online Learning and the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, and at academic conferences including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Additionally, she is the author of the forthcoming book, Creating Inclusive Online Communities: Practices that Support and Engage Diverse Students.

Andrew Boven, Urban admin, '19

Andrew is a resident of Long Beach and currently a special education teacher for IQ Academy. He has been teaching special education for seven years and graduated from the Loyola Marymount School of Education in 2019. He got his masters in Urban Education Policy and was a corps member for Teach for America. Andrew also serves as the vice president for IQ Academy Teacher's Association. Prior to teaching he worked as a reporter in Midland, Texas and for campaigns in Los Angeles County. In his spare time he likes to travel as he has been to 47 states and 26 countries. He is also a big sports fan and plays flag football on Santa Monica Beach in a league for young professionals

Nat Brown, M.A. ’16, J.D. ’22, has an extensive background in education and disability rights law. Passionate about law and policy governing K-12 and higher education systems, she taught primary school while earning her master’s in Education Policy and Administration at LMU.

Nat is an ardent advocate of equity and inclusion in education and has worked with non-profit education organizations to promote representation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields of study as well as college and career readiness for low-income students and students of color.

In addition to equity and inclusion, Nat is also passionate about the role information and communication technologies play in education, including innovating how teachers and students engage learning as well as data and information security in K-12 and higher education, and has experience working with online education organizations to manage risks associated with implementing EdTech.

As a double Lion and devoted member of the LMU community, Nat seeks to utilize her background, network, and expertise to support the Board’s commitment to the continued excellence of the School and to assisting current students and alumni in their professional and intellectual pursuits.

Armando Carvalho, M.A. ’13, M.A. ’18, Ed.D. ’21, is an accomplished educator with experience at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Throughout his time in education, he has served in many roles as a teacher of English, social studies, religion, and science in addition to leadership roles as a department chair and school principal. Dr. Carvalho spent nine years in Catholic education before transitioning to public education with the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has served as past chair and is a current member of the Alumni Council of the Partners in Los Angeles Catholic Education (PLACE) Corps at LMU and currently is a Community Support Person for the program. Dr. Carvalho was a long-time student at LMU - as well as a graduate of the PLACE Corps (cohort 11), Catholic School Administration program, Technology Integration Specialist certification, and the Doctor of Education for Social Justice program. He was also a recipient of the Graduate Library Research Award Grand Prize for his dissertation titled “The Local-executive Governance Model in Catholic Parochial Elementary Schools: Understanding Pastors’ Perspectives” in 2021.

Additionally, Dr. Carvalho holds both multiple and single-subject teaching credentials, with authorizations in English, social studies, English language development, and physical education. Lastly, Dr. Carvalho holds a National Board Certification in English as a New Language (Early Adolescence through Young Adult).

In his free time, Dr. Carvalho enjoys earning additional teaching credentials and is currently working on his Spanish credential. He is currently an English language development teacher and department chair at Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School.

Jonna German, M.A. ’19, currently serves as Senior Assistant Director of Admission at the University of Southern California (USC). 

In addition to her recruitment and matriculation responsibilities as an Admission Counselor, Jonna also serves as a liaison to the USC Athletics Department and as a member of the Office of Admission’s Multicultural Recruitment Committee. A lifelong Los Angeles resident, Jonna has led initiatives in her office to build stronger relationships with community-based organizations locally and domestically in an effort to create opportunities for college access. Prior to her role at USC, Jonna was a member of LMU’s Undergraduate Admission Office.

Jonna holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of San Francisco and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from LMU.

Edgar Hernandez is a coordinator in the Office of the Dean in the School of Education. He has been with LMU for six years, previously working in assessment and accreditation. Aside from his work with the SOE Alumni Association, he also manages the SOE Board of Visitors. In his free time, he enjoys learning, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Korey Hlaudy, M.A. ’14, Ed.D. ’22 is passionate about fostering and supporting equitable, inclusive, and active learning environments with all education stakeholders so that students are supported as they develop their mathematical thinking, problem solving, and self-regulation skills. Currently, he is an Educational Services Consultant for The Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE). In this role, he leads in-person and remote training sessions focused on secondary mathematics topics, provides in-person and remote coaching and mentoring for school-based instructional coaches, math teachers, and provides executive-level coaching for school leaders. He also supports the implementation of research-based programs and effective instructional techniques so that students can achieve at the highest levels and are supported by a network of instructional leaders. 

Additionally, he is a Secondary Math and Science Instructional Coach at The Accelerated Schools, the first public charter network in Historic South Central, Los Angeles. In this role, Korey leads the strategic planning, coaching, and implementation initiatives for the middle and high school math instructional teams. Prior to coaching and consulting, Korey started his career in education as a Teach For America Corps Member where he taught mathematics for grades 5-8 at Da Vinci Connect, K-8 public charter school in Los Angeles that combines homeschool and on-campus instruction using project-based, compassionate communication, and social emotional learning frameworks. He also taught mathematics for grades 9-12 at Da Vinci Design Charter High School, which uses interdisciplinary project-based learning as their instructional framework. Korey is also a member of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education Alumni Association Board of Directors, where he continues his research on social justice leadership praxis within the charter school context and implementing coaching for equitable and active math learning environments.

Korey holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master's degree in Urban Education, Policy and Administration and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice, both from Loyola Marymount University.

Sylvia Jauregui, Ed.D. ‘21 is a skilled educator and equity-focused leader with classroom experience in diverse, multilingual schools. Her expertise spans education policy, research, EdTech innovation, English learner advocacy, and data-driven leadership. Recognized through fellowships from the National Head Start Association and LMU’s Center for Equity for English Learners, Dr. Jauregui is passionate about driving systemic change for equity and social justice in education. She holds an M.Ed. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from LMU. Her award-winning dissertation documented the experiences of Latina parent leaders in the Local Control and Accountability Plan process. Currently, Dr. Jauregui is in the Coro Women in Leadership 2023 Fall Cohort. She serves on the Governing Board for Equitas Academy Charter Schools. Her passion and experience position her as a leader in equitable education.

JulieAnne Howe '18 is a 5th grade Associate Teacher at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Hancock Park, Los Angeles. She received her M.A. in Elementary Education from LMU’s Graduate SOE and is beginning her second year of teaching during the 2019-2020 school year. Prior to receiving her Masters and Teaching Credential from LMU, JulieAnne spent three years working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, working with children with Autism at home and in school to help build independence, boost social skills, and strengthen academic foundations. JulieAnne enjoys traveling, hiking, running, and eating her way through Los Angeles in her spare time. 

Liam Joyce, after graduating from Boston College in 1988, I entered the Jesuit Volunteer Corp.  My one-year assignment was as a childcare worker at the Alcohol Center Teenagers in Tulare, CA and living with 6 other JVs.  Afterwards, I moved to Los Angeles and worked with Covenant House in Hollywood. During this time, a substitute was needed for third grade at Dolores Mission.  So, what the heck, give it a try, how hard could teaching be?  Paper mache with third graders as a substitute, insane!  Well, my three day assignment turned into 5 years teaching multiple grade levels, coaching, and the added hat of assistant principal.  While attending LMU, I jumped into many of the programs in the School of Education: Multiple Subject Credential, Master’s in Counseling, PPS and Administrative Credentials finishing up with the Ed.D. in 2009.  I was fortunate to work at Santa Monica High School as the at-risk counselor 1994-2002.  The past 18 years I have been principal of Topanga Elementary 2002-2010, Webster Middle 2011-2014, R. J. Frank Middle 2014-2017, and currently blessed to be at Crespi Carmelite High School 2017-present. Fr. Tom Batsis and Dr. Mary McCullough have been so helpful and supportive over my nearly 30 years in education.

Mary McCullough, Ph.D., Ex-officio for Faculty

Neeraj Satyal (Ed.D, ‘15) is the founder of the Math Yogi’s, a math education consulting organization focused on happy and healthy teachers and excited and educated math students. A National Board Certified Teacher, he was previously a network math coach and later an Assistant Principal focused on mathematics at the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools. He was also Department Chair at Wilders Preparatory Academy which during his tenure was recognized as a California Distinguished School and later gaining Blue Ribbon status. A South LA resident, his wife Sree are parents to a daughter Jackie, and a fur baby (dog), Griffey.

Bio coming soon

Paul Vu, Ph.D., Ex-officio for the Religious

Brent Walmsley, Urban Education, 2011

Brent Walmsley is an ELD/Current Events Teacher at Synergy Quantum Academy.  Prior to that, he taught English at schools in Los Angeles and Compton.  He earned a MA in Urban Education from LMU in 2011, and earned his Master of Divinity in 2009 from Fuller Seminary, and that year joined Teach For America.  In his free time, he enjoys cooking, cycling, reading, and walks with his dog, Renzo.  He and his wife have a goal of visiting all of the National Parks in the United States, and have visited thirty so far!