November 1, 2017 Our COE students and alumni are receiving grants, recognition, and committee appointments that will contribute to the futures of children and adults in a wide variety of educational areas. These students and alumni are making a difference! [read more]

Staci Arnold is a 3-time Aztec alumna. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in child and family development in 1993. A year later, she received a multiple-subject teaching credential through SDSU and followed that with a master's in educational leadership and an administrative credential in 1999. In 2017, she became the new principal of Lakeview Elementary in Lakeside, a community in San Diego County.

In addition to serving as Dean of Counseling Services for Cuyamaca College, Nicole Jones has also been a part-time lecturer in the Community Based Block (CBB) Licensed Professional Clinical Counseling Program at SDSU. She is an alum of the CBB and Marriage and Family Therapy programs at SDSU as well. Nicole's greatest joy has been providing training and career opportunities to other SDSU graduates who have come to work with her as interns, adjunct counselors, professors, and licensed clinical supervisors. Her commitment is evidenced by the quote enshrined on her office wall: "We rise by lifting others." Nicole was instrumental in establishing the first veterans resource center at Cuyamaca College and in making Cuyamaca a clinical training site for SDSU mental health trainees and interns.

Rosa Ana Lozada is a graduate of the Early Childhood Socio-Emotional and Behavioral Regulation Intervention Specialist (EC-SEBRIS) Certification Program (now the EC-TEaMH program), and she is not the CEO of Harmonium, Inc. Rosa Ana recognized how the EC-SEBRIS program could benefit the child care providers at Harmonium. Site visits from her field supervisor, Chris Muecke, were especially helpful in guiding her from academic knowledge to practical application in the actual classroom setting. This influential experience has helped her work in the community through her advocacy, training, program development, and administration. Her role as Chair for the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention resulted in the passage of a resolution in support of a trauma-informed approach to address and prevent gang violence. Advancing trauma-informed practices and positive, early childhood relationships are some of the best deterrents to gang activity.