Educators don’t just teach – they encourage, mentor, and guide students’ social-emotional development.
In at-promise communities, students face racial trauma and higher rates of adverse childhood experiences, such as family members struggling with addiction, mental illness, or incarceration. To navigate these realities, educators need better support for their own well-being.
When we empower educators to create environments that promote resilience and healing, we can reduce burnout and secondary trauma. This helps educators remain and thrive in their profession, supporting at-promise students and creating equitable educational environments.
LAEP is the Regional Academy for California’s 21st Century School Leadership Academy (21CSLA). Through this work, our CORE coaches serve educational leaders in San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Orange, and Imperial Counties at no cost.
CORE (Cultivating Organizational Resilience & Empowerment) emerged from work LAEP did with Kaiser Permanente around creating trauma-informed school environments. A study by the University of Maryland found this work reduced compassion fatigue among teachers and improved resilience among students and staff.
It’s much easier to be well in systems that are equitable and promote liberation for all. That work is at the heart of CORE. We focus on dismantling inequitable systems so true well-being can exist for educators and students, both individually and as a collective.
CORE leads with an understanding of people’s innate need for safety and relationships. Only when people feel safe can we create brave spaces and have real conversations about inequities and the actions needed to dismantle them.
LaCora is a seasoned communications professional with a passion for using multimedia
storytelling to empower movements for social justice and equality. For over 13 years, she has
honed her skills as a versatile multimedia director, overseeing media operations across diverse
organizations, including the NAACP Beverly Hills-Hollywood Branch and The Shirley Chisholm
Education Foundation. Her deep understanding of the education and equity landscape fuels her
creative vision, allowing her to craft impactful narratives that resonate with audiences.
With strategic communication and collaboration, LaCora excels in developing and executing
compelling multimedia campaigns that not only raise awareness of critical issues but also
inspire action and drive meaningful change. Her proficiency in concept development, production
execution, and team leadership ensures projects are delivered with exceptional quality.
Furthermore, LaCora fosters strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders,
cultivating partnerships that maximize campaign reach and impact.
LaCora's educational foundation began with a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Education from
Florida A&M University. She then pursued a master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages) from Alliant University of San Diego. This passion for
storytelling, fueled by her background in education, translates to her belief in the power of
shared narratives. Her work in this area was recognized through her selection as a Women in
Film Mentee and film director for Viola Davis’ sponsored film showcase, Diversity in Cannes.
Now, LaCora leverages her love of storytelling and commitment to educational equity in her role
leading marketing and communications for Los Angeles Education Partnership, while also
serving on the board of the Pasadena African American Film Foundation.
Dr. Eric Barela has worked as a measurement & evaluation professional for over 2 decades, helping organizations to better understand and act on their social impact. He’s currently a Senior Consultant with Raya Cooper Impact Consulting and previously worked at Salesforce, where he led efforts to measure the social impact of the company’s work with nonprofits and educational institutions across the globe. He began his career working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and with the nonprofit, Partners in School Innovation. Eric previously served on the Board of the American Evaluation Association and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the American Journal of Evaluation.
Eric grew up in East LA and was educated in the Montebello Unified School District. He holds a Ph.D. in education from UCLA. He loves a good road trip, with his husband serving as trusty navigator.
