The Berkeley Review of Education (BRE), an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, is published biannually online, edited by students from the Berkeley School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. The BRE encourages senior and emerging scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers to submit articles that address issues of educational diversity and equity from various intra/interdisciplinary perspectives. BRE is an open-access journal hosted by the eScholarship initiative of the California Digital Library and published yearly, with special issues on occasion.

All of our board members are current doctoral students at the University of California’s Berkeley School of Education.

Jonathan Pérez, Former Head Editor, Consultant, is a doctoral student in the Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender cluster. His research interests entail applying cultural-historical activity theory to analyze learning activities in the classroom that contribute to the racialization of students in the classroom. Currently, Jonathan designs courses for The School of the New York Times. Before coming to UC Berkeley, Jonathan completed two Fulbright grants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond in sociology and Iberian literature. Jonathan also has a M.A.T. from the University of Louisville and a M.Ed from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Ilke Bayazitli, Co-Head Editor, is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Boğaziçi University and her master’s degree in Psychological Science from San Francisco State University. She has been involved in research on psychosocial factors associated with adolescent well-being, including experiences of discrimination, educational contexts, time perspective, and substance use.

Her current research interests center on promoting well-being in children and adolescents with an emphasis on psychoeducational outcomes among underrepresented gifted and talented students. She also studies social and emotional learning in early childhood and its associations with engagement in STEM instruction. Overall, she focuses on protective and preventive approaches in psychological practice, grounded in principles of positive psychology.

Aukeem Ballard, Junior Editor, is a doctoral student in the critical studies of race, class, and gender in education. Aukeem’s research falls at the intersection of policy and practice and centers on equity in school. Specifically, Aukeem investigates the experiences of educators of color as they build and sustain relationships with students as a mediating force on student development. He also investigates how educators move equity into practice in their school settings. A former teacher and school leader, his passion for the practice of education is what drives his current research. He also consults with education-based organizations on issues of equity in schools.

Kelly Billings, Managing Editor, is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Human Development cluster. Her research interests include STEM education, teacher learning and ideology development, practitioner inquiry and culturally sustaining pedagogy. She currently works with Bay Area teachers to support them in implementing an anti-racist science curriculum. Before coming to UC Berkeley, Kelly was a high school science teacher in Oakland, CA, and still coaches teachers in her old school district. She has a single subject teaching credential from Loyola Marymount University and a B.S. from the University of Southern California.

Hoyun Kim, Junior Editor, is a doctoral student in the Policy, Politics, and Leadership cluster. Her research interests lie in the experiences of students in higher education and examining postsecondary institutions as organizations: topics pertaining to student agency, equity, accessibility of higher education, and the behavior and incentives of postsecondary institutions. Before coming to UC Berkeley for graduate studies, Hoyun earned her B.A. in Economics at UC Berkeley with a Minor in Chinese, where she worked as an undergraduate research assistant under the UC ClioMetric History Project’s Zachary Bleemer on higher education.

Elaine (Hua) Luo, Managing Editor and Head Copy Editor, is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Elaine’s research interests include ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization, and teacher-student relationships. Before coming to Berkeley, she earned an M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard School of Education, and a B.A. degree in Education Sciences from the University of California, Irvine with two specializations in Research and Evaluation and Early Childhood Learning and Development.

Mingfeng Xue, Junior Editor, is a Ph.D. candidate at Berkeley School of Education. His research focuses on applied psychometrics and statistics in education, especially item response theory models and the application of large language models in educational measurement. His work has been published in the International Journal of Educational Research, Behavior Research Methods, etc.

 

 

 

 

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Carolyn Ann Schweitzer, Senior Copy Editor, is a neurodivergent doctoral student in the Language, Literacy, and Culture program in the Berkeley School of Education. With a background in critical media and composition studies, her areas of inquiry are neurodivergent literacies inside and outside the post-secondary classroom and neurodivergence in film, television, and print media. Before coming to Berkeley, Carolyn taught composition at the post-secondary level. She earned her M.A. in Literature and Film from Northern Illinois University and her B.A. in Critical Film Studies from the University of Southern California.

Siqi Huang, Managing Editor, is a 4th-year doctoral candidate in the Graduate Group in Science and Mathematics Education (SESAME) under the mentorship of Alan Schoenfeld. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from UCLA and is concurrently pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics with Fields Medalist Richard Borcherds to deepen her expertise. Her dissertation focuses on designing, implementing, and studying a disciplinary-rigorous, identity-empowering learning community to support historically underrepresented students in calculus at UC Berkeley.

Ashley Zhou, Communications, is a doctoral student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Special Education at Berkeley School of Education and San Francisco State University. Ashley’s research focuses on the intersection of race, gender, class, and ability in special education labor, focusing on the role of the paraprofessional. Prior to entering the doctoral program, Ashley worked in general and special education in the public charter school system in Washington, D.C. She received her B.A. in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality from Harvard College.

Josie Ingram Defaye (she/her), Internal Review Coordinator, is a doctoral student in the Language, Literacy, and Culture cluster at UC Berkeley’s School of Education, advised by Kris Gutiérrez. Her research interests include gender and literacy, queer youth activism in schools, and teaching about collective action. Previously, she received her MA in Teacher Education from Berkeley School of Education and worked as a high school English teacher in LAUSD.

Hetvi Desai (she/her), Junior Editor, is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UC Berkeley. She holds a B.S. in Psychological Sciences from Purdue University and an M.A. in Applied Clinical Psychology from Penn State Behrend. Her research focuses on adjustment and acculturation in school systems, specifically examining how cultural identities impact immigrant children’s experiences. Her research also explores the impact of intersecting marginalized identities on children’s educational outcomes, as well as how cultural identity can act as a risk or protective factor for behavioral and learning challenges.

Alexandra Collard, Junior Editor, is a second-year PhD student in the Graduate Group in Science and Mathematics Education (SESAME). Ally has Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Math from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Institut Polytechnique de Paris, where she studied Electrochemistry and Materials Chemistry. Ally also taught high school Chemistry in Colorado, where she worked to develop her skills in inquiry-based teaching. At UC Berkeley, she is now studying Chemistry Education, working with Anne Baranger’s and Marcia Linn’s groups. Her research focuses on supporting both preservice STEM teachers and chemistry learners. Her current projects include understanding and supporting teachers in integrating green chemistry into their practice, investigating the role of mechanistic reasoning shortcuts in student problem solving, understanding the impact of undergraduate research experiences on preservice science teachers’ practice, and studying the impact of an alternative general chemistry curriculum on student mindset.

Carlos Rivera Bernabé, Junior Editor, is a Ph.D. student in the School Psychology program. Prior to Berkeley, he received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California with a Minor in Education and Society. His primary research interests center on developing and examining how culturally competent and responsive practices can improve the mental health, identity development, and academic outcomes of ethnoracially and linguistically diverse students. Additionally, Carlos is interested in exploring ways to best support and uplift STEM identity and literacy skill development, particularly among underrepresented, immigrant, and at-risk youth. Altogether, he aspires to help school psychologists deliver impactful, equitable mental health services that empower marginalized students to thrive academically and socially.

Golzar Ejadi, Junior Editor, is a Ph.D. student in the School Psychology program. Golzar’s current research interests center around positive development, mind-body practices, intervention implementation, and parent, practitioner and administrator well-being. Before attending UC Berkeley, she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from the University of British Columbia and her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from San Francisco State University.

Jetta McPhee, Junior Editor, is a first-year doctoral student in the Learning Sciences and Human Development program. Before the BSE, they earned an MA in Educational Technology from UNC Chapel Hill in 2025 and a BS in Psychological Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2023. Jetta’s education research at UNC focused on using learning analytics to support first-year students in introductory STEM courses. They are interested in designing math interventions for elementary students, culturally-responsive pedagogy, and supporting students in their development of executive functioning skills.

Vo Ram Yoon (him/his), Junior Editor, is a doctoral student in the Policy, Politics, and Leadership cluster at the Berkeley School of Education. Ethnically Korean and raised in Bolivia, his passion for advancing social justice and equity in education have been shaped by his international upbringing and witnessing how privilege and marginalization manifest in education from the classrooms of Chicago Public Schools to the private English academies in Tokyo. His research interests include the impact of EdTech on K-12 schools, the racialization of AAPI students, and the relationship between schools and the nonprofit industrial complex. He holds a BA in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago and an Ed.M. in Education Policy & Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Alan Farsio Mozaffari, Junior Editor, is a Health Policy PHD student at Berkeley’s School of Public Health. He is broadly interested in the structural determinants of health and developmental trajectories from early childhood through adolescence. His work uses mixed-methods, prevention science, systems thinking, and participatory action research to understand how state apparatus and policies shape the social, economic, and ecological conditions that enable or constrain healthy experiences for youth. He holds a Masters of Education in Human Development and Psychology and a Masters of Public Health in Health and Social Behavior, both from Harvard University, and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Urban Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.