Dr. Joseph Johnson
Program Director
In August 2005, Dr. Joseph Johnson became the Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation and the QUALCOMM Professor of Urban Education at San Diego State University.
Previously, he served as a classroom teacher in San Diego, as a school district administrator in New Mexico, as a state department official in both Texas and Ohio, as a researcher and technical assistance provider at the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, and as the Director of Student Achievement and School Accountability at the U.S. Department of Education where he was responsible for directing the federal Title I Program and several related programs.
Dr. Johnson earned a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin's Cooperative Superintendency Program. He earned a Master of Arts in Education from San Diego State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh.
In 1987 Dr. Johnson received the Special Educator of the Year Award from the New Mexico Council for Exceptional Children. In 1989 he was the founding president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. In 1993 and again in 2000, he received the Educator of the Year Award from the Texas Association of Compensatory Education. In 2003 he received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award from San Diego State University's College of Education.
Dr. Lynne G. Perez
Senior Researcher
Dr. Perez is the senior researcher for the National Center for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University. She also serves as a part-time lecturer with SDSU’s Department of Educational Leadership. Lynne began her career in education as a middle school teacher and teacher leader.
Before coming to San Diego State, she worked as an assistant professor at St. John’s University (Queens, NY) and as a visiting professor at The Ohio State University, where she earned both her masters and Ph.D. in educational administration.
Most recently, Dr. Perez led NCUST’s contribution to an intensive statewide study of California’s continuation high schools conducted on behalf of the James Irvine Foundation and in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University and WestEd.
Pamela Engler
Program Coordinator
A former science teacher whose first teaching job was with the Peace Corps in Nepal, Pamela Engler has over two decades of experience working on education reform projects with schools and districts. During the 90s she worked extensively with the National Science Foundation Systemic Initiatives, first as Director of Curriculum for the Florida Statewide Systemic Initiative and later as a consultant for Urban Systemic Initiatives in Boston, Memphis, Miami, New Orleans, Oakland, and San Diego.
She worked for the San Diego Unified School District for several years, first on their mathematics and science systemic initiative and later with the Chancellor's office on the design and implementation of the Blueprint for Student Success.
She became part of the NCUST Leadership team in 2006 and has been enthusiastically engaged in the important work of urban school transformation ever since.
