Region 16 Comprehensive Center is proud to offer the Co-designing with Families and Communities Fellowship as a resource for system-focused educators who engage with local partners in educational re-design. The Co-Design Fellowship is a year-long community of action for educational leaders. Teams of two to four leaders will partner with youth, families, and community members — particularly those underserved by our system — to collaborate on building more equitable education systems.
Included in the fellowship’s offering of resources are small-group coaching sessions with expert facilitators. Below, meet the Fellowship Core Facilitator Team:
Dr. Ann Ishimaru
Dr. Ann Ishimaru’s (Japanese American) work focuses on the intersection of leadership, school-community relationships, and equity in P-12 systems. Her work focuses on improving educational leadership to create equitable educational environments, with a particular focus on students, families, and communities who have been historically marginalized in education.
Dr. Megan Bang
Dr. Megan Bang (Ojibwe and Italian descent) has an interest and passion for interdisciplinary approaches and methods that connect her to people’s lived experiences and spaces. She has extensive knowledge in community-based design research and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Dr. Melanie QuaemptsDr. Melanie Quaempts (Hawaiian, Japanese, and Irish descent) brings a school district administrator lens into her practice of cognitive studies. She aims to understand and dismantle systemic system racism with a deep understanding of the complexities of the work. She has experience designing learning experiences that draw out participants’ strengths to create shared power within decision making.
Dr. Anthony Craig
Dr. Anthony Craig (Yakama) has served as a teacher, teacher leader, principal, and central office administrator in suburban and reservation settings in Washington state. As a scholar, Dr. Craig focuses on Indigenous knowledge and models of leadership, collaborative and collective leadership, and school improvement and design that build on strengths of community culture and goals.
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa (African American) examines how urban school leaders enact culturally responsive leadership practices. He has led equity audits in U.S. schools to reduce achievement and discipline gaps and is the first to develop online Equity Audits for schools. In addition to his work in the U.S., Dr. Khalifa has engaged in school leadership reform in African and Asian countries, including a U.N. project in East Africa.
Bernie Sorenson
Bernie Sorenson serves the Region 16 Comprehensive Center as its director, building off a diverse background in education, including experience as assistant superintendent, principal and central office instructional leader. Most recently, Bernie was a program coordinator with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, supporting leadership development and systemic change for mission-critical projects.
If you’re a system-focused educational leader, we hope you’ll consider this opportunity to profoundly impact the way you engage families and communities through a supported co-design process. Have questions about the fellowship? See our FAQ page, watch the video from our April 20 Information Session, or see the Information Session slides.
Applications are due May 21 at 5 pm PT. Applications will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.