LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Sandra Prades-Bertran was nominated by her friend, Chinongwa Chasakara.

As an experienced language educator from Spain, Ms. Prades-Bertran moved to California six years ago with the dreams and hopes of making a positive impact on the education of her students. When she started working at a Title I Dual Language school in East Oakland, she saw the huge inequities in the American educational system. She decided to make her impact bigger than her 25 kindergarteners.

Ms. Prades-Bertran got her credentials in three years. Then, she joined a leadership program that gave her the chance to move to a Teacher on Special Assignment position. She became an Early Education Instructional Coach and Dual Language Coordinator.

Ms. Prades-Bertran learned more and more about how Dual Language programs were laid out in the United States and how they positively and negatively impacted different demographics. Her goal was to ensure these programs were implemented to support the communities they were serving, without increasing the inequities and systemic racism already existing.

Thanks to her determination and student-centered mindset, she has impacted more than 300 students every year. She is a believer and an eternal optimist who spends endless hours and many sleepless nights finding all the ways to be the best ally,  educator, and support she can be.