DR. ROBERT J. JAGERS
Dr. Robert J. Jagers is CASEL’s vice president of research. Among his various CASEL duties, Dr. Jagers is leading work with partner districts to explore how social and emotional learning can be leveraged to promote equitable learning environments and equitable developmental outcomes for students from historically underserved groups. He has a particular interest in participatory approaches to SEL research and practice and their implications for the civic development of children and youth. Prior to joining CASEL, he was a faculty member in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan, a Co-PI of the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context (CSBYC), and the founding director of Wolverine Pathways, a university-sponsored diversity pipeline program for qualified secondary school students.
DR. LARRY NUCCI
Larry Nucci is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at UC Berkeley and professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Nucci has published extensively on children’s moral and social development and education. His most recent book, Moral education for social justice (co-authored with Robyn Ilten-Gee (Teachers College Press, 2021) received the 2022 AERA Moral Development and Education SIG Book of the Year Award. His other books include: Nice is Not Enough: Facilitating Moral Development (Pearson, 2009) and Education in the Moral Domain (Cambridge University Press, 2001). In 2017 his work in moral education was recognized by the Association for Moral Education with the Kuhmerker Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research and Practice in Moral Education. He also received the Sanford N. McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education (given by the Character Education Partnership, 2020).
He is a pioneer in the educational application of what is referred to as domain theory in which distinctions are drawn between morality and the conventions of society. One aspect of his work on social development has focused on children's judgments about issues considered personal matters of privacy and discretion. This research has been carried out in a number of cross-cultural contexts including Asia and Latin America.
MAI XI LEE
Mai Xi Lee is the Social Emotional Learning Director at Sacramento County Office of Education. She is a veteran educator who has served the Sacramento region for 25 years as a bilingual paraprofessional, teacher, counselor, school administrator and district administrator. Along with her work leading districtwide SEL in Sacramento City Unified School District, Ms. Lee was a contributing leader for the groundbreaking Collaborating Districts Initiative with the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and California’s Transformative SEL Skills & Conditions Workgroup. Ms. Lee believes that transforming school systems requires the active and intentional through-line of Transformative SEL from the boardroom to the classroom. Ms. Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University, Master of Arts in School Counseling, Pupil Personnel Services Credential and Administrative Services Credential from California State University, Sacramento. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in the Leaders for Equity and Democracy program at the University of California, Berkeley.
TIFFANY WHELDEN
Tiffany Whelden is the principal at Oak Ridge Elementary School in Sacramento City Unified School District. She has served as an educator in SCUSD for the past 23 years as a teacher, training specialist, assistant principal and principal. Ms. Whelden is an advocate for restorative justice in school settings. She is passionate about reimagining systems that perpetuate racial inequity within existing school structures. Ms. Whelden was awarded teacher of the year for SCUSD while serving as a resource teacher working with students more than two years below grade level in English Language Arts. Ms. Whelden spent this past year as a practitioner in residence for the Transformative Justice in Education Center at UC Davis.
