Dr. Dan Chernow '67, MA '89, MA '03, Co-President
Dan has three degrees from CSUN (BA & MA History; MA Education) and an Ed.D from UCLA (Educational Leadership). He is now retired but was a secondary teacher; a Vice President with Pacific Theatres Corporation; and Executive Director of the UCLA School Management Program working with schools across the Country.
Dan served on the California State Board of Education, the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission, and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, along with other Federal, and Local Committees in education.
Currently, Dan volunteers as Executive Director of the Californians for Public Education-Education Fund and serves on the Boards of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education, Project Grad LA and the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council Education Committee. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee. In 2001, Dan was a recipient of the CSUN Distinguished Alumni Award.
Dan and his wife Cindy sponsor three scholarships for Future Teachers though the College. Cindy has two degrees from CSUN, and one of his sons and a daughter-in-law have CSUN degrees.
Aline Dahdal Millan '99, CRED '04, MA '10, Co-President
Aline has a Child Development Bachelor’s Degree, Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and master’s degree in educational leadership & policy studies from CSUN. In 2018, Aline obtained an Educational Specialist Credential and is currently working with students with special needs for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Aline has served in private, charter and traditional public schools and has taught students from preschool to sixth grade. She is dedicated to her career as an educator by working closely with students, families and colleagues. Married to an educator and mom to 3 teenagers: two daughters and a son.
Dr. Sue Sears, Faculty Liaison
Dr. Sears is a Professor in the Department of Special Education and the faculty liaison to the Alumni Chapter Board. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from UCLA, and she has been at CSUN since 1990. Sue teaches classes on language and literacy and special education teacher preparation. She coordinates services in the Teaching, Learning, and Counseling Consortium, and is currently working with the Los Angeles Unified School District to improve reading outcomes for secondary students with disabilities.
Rosina Chavez '97, MA '03
Rosina received her bachelor's in liberal arts and teaching Credential in 1997. She received her master’s in education administration in 2003. Rosina has over 25 years of experience working for the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has taught in all elementary grades and has worked extensively with second language learners. After receiving her master's in administration, she became a Title I/ TSP, Target Student Population, School Coordinator and serves Title I students, newcomers, foster youth, parents and community. She has brought with her three years of experience serving on the Child and Adolescent Development Chapter as a member of the board under the title of Co- Mentoring Chair. She is proud to be given the opportunity to give back to the CSUN Education community.
Dr. Soraya Fallah Ed.D '17
Dr. Fallah studied Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, earning her doctorate degree from CSUN. She also holds a master’s degree in international relations & law. She is familiar with the treatment of individuals with disabilities in education and issues around educating Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students, both professionally and personally. Dr. Soraya conducted one of the first studies on immigrant families of children with disabilities from the Middle East and North Africa region.
Dr. Fallah is a published author of books, peer-review journals, and other professional works, and she has served as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on behalf of literature reviews, and a regular commentator on radio broadcasts Soraya is the recipient of multiple awards for her international and national projects and writings. Also, she is the current Advocacy Chair & co-president of UNASUA-SFV Chapter. She is vice president of Kurdish Community of Southern California (KCSC). Fallah is one of the founding members and ambassador of UNWomen-USNC, LA. Dr. Fallah worked with CSUN’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) as a research assistant and is currently an associate at 2Teach, LLC, an educational consulting company dedicated to providing practical, innovative and research-based strategies to improve instruction in today's inclusive classrooms and organizations.
Christina Giles '89
Christina graduated from CSUN in '89 with a master's in science in Counseling. Christina is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Christina works for San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc. which is the largest Non-Profit for Mental Health services in the San Fernando Valley and operating since 1970. Christina has been running the CalWORKs program for the past 19 years. CalWORKs works to reduce the barriers to employment for those on the welfare system who are dealing with Mental Health, Domestic Violence and/or Substance Abuse issues. Christina also provides Group Supervision for Graduate Students who are working on their MFT trainee hours through Counseling Partners of Los Angeles by providing counseling services at Catholic schools in Los Angeles. In her spare time, Christina enjoys watching Baseball games and traveling with her husband.
Diane Glickman '71, CRED '02
Diane has more than three decades in education, teaching special needs students and mentoring K-12 teachers in the area of Special Education. With a passion for teaching and helping individuals succeed, she earned her bachelor's degree in Sociology at CSUN and worked with disadvantaged kids in the penal systems. Her desire to teach took her to California State University Los Angeles where she earned her master's degree in education, and she began teaching problem teens with learning disabilities. She was honored by Pi Lamba Theta, a national professional teachers' organization and received accolades from educators for introducing new and innovative programs to motivate disadvantaged teens.
Diane's career took her into the publishing world where she marketed and published national and regional consumer publications in the areas of home improvement, travel, parenting and education.
Teaching was always her passion, so Diane returned to teaching and California State University Northridge, where she earned her Special Education Credentials and a job with Los Angeles Unified School District at Palms Middle School. Her contributions to the Special Education Program have aided many general education teachers in incorporating the inclusion program in their classrooms and assisted students and parents in making the transition to mainstream classes. She served as Chairman of the Special Education Department, was on the School Site Council and the Leadership Council for many years.
Diane's retirement from LAUSD hasn't quenched her desire to stop working with kids. In her community, she is active with the Venice Family Clinic, a docent at the Skirball Cultural Center, substitute teachers and is a member of several civic and religious organizations. Diane has been married for over 40 years and has two sons and two grandsons.
Lavenia Howard '09
Lavenia is a graduate of the Educational Leadership Program and has a B.A. Degree in Psychology. To begin her teaching career Lavenia obtained a California Teaching Credential, along with an M.A. in Cross-Cultural Teaching. This year she became a National Certificated STEM Educator. Lavenia has a synergistic mindset that truly believes we are stronger when we collaborate and achieve common goals in making education a better future for all. Lavenia is dedicated to helping educators understand and implement CCSS in Math and ELA and NGSS, with a newly acquired STEM teaching focus. “Together we can accomplish the impossible.”
Dr. Jessica Lee '06, MA '16
Jessica earned her BA (Journalism) and MA (Education: Curriculum & Instruction) at CSUN and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at USC. Jessica has over 15 years of experience in the education field ranging from K-12 and higher education and now works as a Chief of Staff in the corporate tech space in Los Angeles. Jessica has started her own education business providing intervention and enrichment programs to students and families and grew her private company over 12 years. She then transitioned into higher education to Loyola Marymount University where she was both an administrator focused on faculty development and an adjunct faculty member of the School of Education as well. She maintains her service to the local K-12 community in education via board service at a local charter school in Lynwood and now at the College of Education here at CSUN as well. Jessica's research interests and publications center on educational technology, effective online and hybrid teaching and learning, and student engagement.
With over 22 years of experience in special education (including as a paraprofessional), Richard is well knowledgeable across the special education spectrum as an instructor and counselor. A master in creating and developing the individualized educational plan (IEP) he is proficient in data analysis when diagnosing a specific learning disability and non-visible disabilities. He has also mentored special education student teachers from the Los Angeles Unified School District Cohort Program, California State University, Northridge and other Los Angeles institutions.
Consuelo G. Padilla '02, MA '17
Connie received her Liberal Studies and Teaching Credential in 2002 and master's in education administration in 2017. Connie was an elementary teacher for 17 years. She taught in Title I schools with 90% free lunch. While teaching in upper grade she was identified as a Highly Effective teacher because of the high number of successful students. Currently, she works for an elementary school as part of the Los Angeles Unified School District as a Targeted Student Population Advisor. She takes pride in supporting the students, parents, and staff. She also has sat the last two years in the scholarship committee for CSUN's Eisner's Education Department. Her goal is to continue to give back to the community.
Dr. Richard A. Pedroza BA ’03, MA ‘07, Ed.D '19
Richard has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology; a Master of Arts in Special Education Mild to Moderate disabilities; and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership concentration: Educational Psychology from The University of Southern California. He is a LAUSD special education credentialed teacher in Science and Mathematics. He also holds a valid Education Specialist Instruction Credential, and a Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development Certificate. In addition, Richard also Maintains added authorizations in Autism Spectrum Disorders, English Language Development, and Educational Assessments.
Samantha Stewart ' 21
Samantha Stewart got her start in early childhood education as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She completed the Applied Developmental Psychology (ADP) Minor, which combined coursework about child development with hands-on internship in an infant-toddler childcare setting. During her time at UCLA, Sam also worked with low-income preschool students through the AmeriCorps program, Jumpstart. Sam graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and double minor in Applied Developmental Psychology and East Asian Studies in 2017. Since then, she has been working full-time as an infant-toddler teacher. Sam currently works on campus at UCLA as a primary teacher for children 3 months to 3 years old and mentor teacher for the undergraduate students in the ADP minor program. Sam earned her master's degree in educational psychology/early childhood education from California State University, Northridge in December 2021. Sam's culminating projects covered topics such as the benefits of homeschool education, mentoring in the ECE field, and the benefits (and evaluation) of outdoor education for young children.
Vanessa Frnzyan
My name is Vanessa Frnzyan and I have been an educator since 1996. I graduated CSUN in 2000 with a BA in Sociology/Criminology and received my Education Specialist credential in 2002. I began my career as a Special Education Assistant at Cleveland High School. In 2000, I was offered a teaching position at Cleveland HS, and I accepted it. I had been teaching for 8 years when I the principal offered me the job of SPED coordinator, and I accepted. I was the special education coordinator for 10 years when an opportunity to become a Program Specialist for the Division of Special Education in LAUSD became available. I enjoyed being a program specialist because it gave me the opportunity to meet and collaborate with many new teachers, staff and admin. In 202, I left the Division of Special Education and became an Assistant Principal at Northridge Academy High School. I enjoy being back on a school campus and working with students, parents and school staff.
Joselyn Stefany Corado Cornejos, 16’, MA 21’
Joselyn began her educational career at Los Angeles Pierce College and obtained an associate degree in child development (2013). She then transferred to California State University, Northridge (CSUN). In 2016, Joselyn received a bachelor's in child and Adolescent development with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. During this time, Joselyn worked as a preschool teacher in different settings. In 2019, she decided to return to school to obtain her master's. In the Fall of 2021, Joselyn obtained her master's degree in educational psychology with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from CSUN, becoming the first member of her family to get a higher degree. Joselyn has over ten years of experience working with young children and their families. Joselyn works for First 5 Ventura County, a non-profit organization that supports the Family Resource Center (FRC) model to help families with young children. Joselyn hopes to work with families at the meso level to advocate for high-quality programs and break generational adversities through education.
