Kai Mathews is the Director of the CA Educator Diversity Project at UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools. The Educator Diversity Project is a statewide initiative aimed at diversifying and humanizing the educator pipeline. She is a professor at Alder Graduate School Education where she works with pre-service teachers on designing equitable classrooms and inclusive curriculum. Kai sits on the board of Urban Ed Academy and is the founder and lead designer at The Liberatory Classroom (TLC), a professional learning space helping educators create classrooms where students can show up whole, in the full potential and dignity of their humanity.
Prior to working at CTS, Kai was a former 8th grade teacher at High Tech High in San Diego; researcher at The Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education; and adjunct professor of Educational Equity at the University of San Diego. She has deep expertise in liberatory design, Project-Based Learning (PBL), culturally sustaining pedagogy; social justice education, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Design Thinking. Kai prides herself in creating immersive, project-based, and liberatory learning environments that push, uplift, and teach the whole child and allows students and teachers to engage in critical inquiry, social advocacy, and divergent dialogue.
Dr. Kai has a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies with a specialization in K-12 education from the University of San Diego, an M.A. in Communication from Ellis University, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Creative Writing from Spelman College. She lives in the beautiful, vibrant city of Los Angeles and spends her free time roller skating, eating well, and meditating on liberatory futures.
