Dr. Michelle Sadrena Pledger is the Founder of Living for Liberation, an organization that supports the liberation of self, systems, and society. She is also the Director of Liberation at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, an institution 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 co-directed the Share Your Learning Campaign which 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 Justice: Self, Schools, and Society course in the San Diego Teacher Residency Program, Leadership for School Change in the Master’s Program, and Culturally Responsive Continuous Improvement in the new teacher induction 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 was recently awarded the 2022 Outstanding Alumnus Award by the CSUSM College of Health and Human Services. She earned 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. Her book, LIBERATE! Pocket-Sized Paradigms for Liberatory Learning is a must read for any educator who aspires to design educational experiences that are responsive to culturally and linguistically diverse young people. 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, act empathetically, and live a life of liberation.
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