Laura Hallberg
Program Lead, Doctoral Program in Transformative Action in Education & Assistant Professor

Education
Ed.D., Educational Leadership, University of New England, Portland, ME, 2015
M.S., Educational Leadership, University of New England, Portland, ME, 2009
B.A., French and German, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, 1993
Prior to joining Pacific, I held a variety of roles in education, including middle school and district-level administration and in non-profit. I began my career as a high school German teacher and then became the founder and program coordinator of a California Partnership Academy, the Careers in Education Academy, which has been recognized state-wide for its success with students. At Benerd, I serve as the program lead for the doctorate in educational and organizational leadership and I lead with the same passion for building relationships with students and colleagues that motivated me to enter teaching in the first place. I believe that education must be transformative, that we must be reflective and reflexive in our practice so that we are constantly striving to provide students with the educational experiences that meet their needs.
RESEARCH INTEREST:
My research interests are aligned with this philosophy, focusing on equity leadership, social-emotional learning, and school culture and climate.
- Equity leadership
- Social-emotional learning and academic achievement
- School climate and culture
- EDUC 322: Qualitative Methods and Research
- EDUC 238: Organizational Change and Consulting
- EDUC 238: Organizational Change & Consulting
- EDUC 274: Action Research
- EDUC 285: Educational Leadership
- EDUC 319: Teaching as a Subversive Activity
- EDUC 322: Qualitative Methods and Research
- EDUC 356: Applied Inquiry III
- EDUC 367: Leadership in Diverse Organizations
Recent Publications:
- "Leading for equity: From critical reflection to critical analysis to critical action"
Paper presented at 11th Annual University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute:
Mentoring, Coaching, and Leadership for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, October 2018 - Hallberg, L. (2019, May 23). Priority X - Social and emotional learning and school climate [Audio podcast].
Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/wn/rf/edtalks-ep3.asp - Aguada-Hallberg, L. & Santiago, L. (2019). Leading for equity: 5 steps from awareness to commitment.
Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol14/num23/leading-for-equity-5-steps-from-awareness-to-commitment.aspx
Recent Presentations:
- "Preparing Leaders for College and Career Readiness" (2018).
Presented at National Association for Secondary School Principal Annual Conference, Chicago, IL - "Design Thinking for High School Redesign" (2018).
Presented at Global MindEd Annual Conference, Denver, CO - "Rethinking High Schools Using a Change Design Approach" (2018).
Poster presentation at Carnegie Foundation Summit on Improvement in Education, San Francisco, CA - "Learning by Doing: Designing Project-Based Learning for All Students" (2018).
Presented at Educating for Careers Annual Conference, Sacramento, CA - "Leading for Equity: It's Not Something We Do, It's Something We Are" (2018).
Presented at Globalization, Diversity, and Education Conference, Spokane, WA - "Equicentricity: From awareness to commitment" (2018).
Presented at Advancing Improvement in Education, San Antonio, TX - "Using action research for program evaluation and improvement" (2019).
Presented at Education for Careers Annual Conference, Sacramento, CA