Dr. Michelle Pledger is the Director of Liberation at the Center for Research on Equity and Innovation, a center that brings together practitioners, researchers and youth to address complex problems of practice in K-12 education and create more equitable, engaging learning environments for all students. She also co-directs the Share Your Learning Campaign which aims to spread student-centered practices (exhibitions, student led conferences, and presentations of learning) to 5 million students. As a faculty member at High Tech High’s Graduate School of Education, she co-teaches the Equity, Diversity, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy course in the Teaching Apprentice Program, the Leading for Diversity, Equity, and Integration course in the Master’s Program. As a Freedom Facilitator, Dr. Pledger consults with organizations and districts who seek to liberate self, others, and systems.

Dr. Pledger has been recognized as a Yale University Bouchet Graduate Honor Society member, a David L. Clark Scholar, a Billions Institute Fellow, a Chrispeels Doctoral Fellow, a Shoephlin Fellow, a recipient of the National Society of High School Scholars Higher Education Award, as well as the Inter-American Development Award. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in social justice education through a joint doctoral program at the University of California, San Diego and California State University, San Marcos. Her research focused on cultivating culturally responsive teaching and classroom management self-efficacy in novice and veteran teachers for the purpose of improving academic opportunities and outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students. She holds a Master’s degree in Pacific International Affairs and a Bachelor's degree in International Studies with a minor in Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Pledger is committed to disrupting inequity in education and cultivating a community of practitioners who honor the lived experiences of all their students and educators. Whether it is through the vehicle of project based learning, culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogy, or freedom facilitation, her hope is to develop educators and students who think critically and act empathetically, and live a life of liberation.

Instagram:@living_for_liberation
Twitter: @michellesadrena