MA in Teaching Faculty
Meet The Faculty
GSEP's MA in Teaching faculty holds degrees from some of the most prestigious universities. They are accomplished professional scholar-practitioners with exemplary academic achievements, professional expertise, scholarly credentials, and educational experience. All GSEP faculty offer an important balance between theory and practice in a practitioner-based curriculum.
Anthony Collatos, PhD
Associate Dean, Education Division
Professor of Education
Dr. Collatos is a research associate with UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access and the University of California All Campus Consortium on Racial Diversity (UC/ACCORD). His research involves the Futures Project, an eight-year longitudinal study that examined alternative pathways for first-generation urban youth to more effectively navigate the K–16 educational pipeline. Dr. Collatos is also the director of the Urban Parent/ Teacher Education Collaborative and the Youth and Empowerment Research Seminar Program. He has published several articles and book chapters and regularly presents his research to educators, to community groups, and at national and international conferences. He has a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jennaca Cotton, EdD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Dr. Jennaca Cotton is an Assistant Clinical Professor who serves as the MAT program site coordinator for the Calabasas campus. Additionally, Dr. Cotton teaches multiple courses for the MAT program at both campuses. Dr. Cotton first joined the Pepperdine community when she attended Seaver College for her undergraduate degree in elementary education. After graduating, she taught in Los Angeles at the elementary level and served as a literacy specialist before transitioning to working with pre-service candidates. Dr. Cotton has an MA in Reading Instruction with a Reading Specialist Credential from Loyola Marymount University and an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. Dr. Cotton is passionate about literacy, equity, and social and emotional learning, and feels so grateful to work with the GSEP teaching candidates as they embark on their journey as educators.
Reyna García-Ramos, PhD
Professor of Education
Dr. García Ramos is a professor of education and director of the Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) at Pepperdine University. She lends leadership to the undergraduate and graduate preservice teacher pathways and directs the MAT program at GSEP. Dr. García Ramos teaches in the MAT and doctoral programs and is the faculty liaison for CABE Pepperdine, the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) university chapter.
Jeremiah Gonzalez, PhD
Adjunct Professor
Jeremiah J. González, PhD is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education & Psychology (GSEP) at Pepperdine University. He is also the Administrator of Family and Community Engagement supporting Region North in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Prior to his current position, he was a Testing and Operations Coordinator in the Office of Health Emergency Response and Support in LAUSD. Previously, he was the Principal of Burbank Boulevard Elementary and Gifted Global Learning Magnet and Murchison Street Elementary School. He has worked for LAUSD as a Teacher, Grade Level Chair, Title III Access to Core Instructional Coach, English Learners and Title I Coordinator, Adult ESL Teacher, Teacher Advisor, Principal, and Regional Support Administrator.
Christopher Hoang
Adjunct Professor
Christopher A. Hoang, EdD, is an adjunct professor with the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University. He currently teaches the Single Subject Developing Teaching Methods and the Single Subject Advanced Teaching Methods courses. He is an advocate for equitable education for all students and believes educational technology can enhance student learning experiences and provide them the necessary resources to meet their needs in learning. He believes that edtech provides students and educators the opportunity to level the playing field and be given opportunities that wouldn't otherwise exist.
Jennifer Miyake-Trapp, EdD
Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Miyake-Trapp has over a decade of experience in K-12 public schools. She has taught middle school and continuation high school in both urban and suburban settings, coached new teachers, and designed professional development workshops focused on meeting the needs of linguistically and ethnically diverse learners.
Xochitl Ortiz-Soto, EdD
Adjunct Professor
Dr. Soto-Ortiz is a high school principal with over 20 years of experience in public education in urban districts of Southern California. Her career began as a bilingual Spanish/English BCLAD certified elementary school teacher before serving as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) School Psychologist at the elementary and secondary level. In addition, she has over seven years of experience as an educational leader and administrator also at the elementary and secondary grade levels. Her research includes the study of Effective Leadership in alternative education settings.
Catlin Tucker, EdD
Adjunct Professor
Dr. Catlin Tucker is a bestselling author, international trainer, and keynote speaker. She serves as a professor in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Pepperdine University, where she supports aspiring educators in developing equitable, student-centered instructional practices. Drawing from her 16 years in the classroom and her doctoral research in learning technologies, Dr. Tucker explores how blended learning, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and artificial intelligence can be used to design inclusive, student-led learning experiences.
Ricardo Vigil, EdD
Professor
Dr. Vigil serves as the director of field experience for the teacher preparation program at GSEP. Previously, he taught as a secondary social studies instructor and was a K-12 administrator and adjunct professor. Dr. Vigil uses his background knowledge of K-12 education to maintain and develop partnerships with schools in the greater Los Angeles area. He currently teaches clinical courses, secondary methods, and instructional design and enjoys guiding and developing new educators as they journey through their programs and into their careers. In 2011, Dr. Vigil was a finalist nominee for dissertation of the year at the University of Southern California, and other research interests include technology and teacher feedback, and instruction. Dr. Vigil is a passionate supporter of STEM, urban education, and innovative schools.
Kevin Wong, PhD
Assistant Professor of Education
Dr. Kevin M. Wong is an Assistant Professor of Education and Chair of the MA in TESOL Program in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University. Dr. Wong draws from his biracial, multilingual upbringing in Hong Kong to examine language learning among children, with a particular interest in new language learning and heritage language maintenance. As a former elementary public school teacher, Dr. Wong seeks educational equity for linguistically and culturally diverse students in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 contexts.