The College of Education is excited to welcome four new faculty members joining us for the fall semester!
Dr. Jeff Brown
Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling and School Psychology
Dr. Brown will be teaching in the school psychology program. Before coming to SDSU, Jeff was an assistant professor of psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a diversity and inclusion research fellow at the Partnership on AI, where he focused on attrition of historically marginalized identities in the artificial intelligence field. In addition, Jeff’s research areas include mental health and identity in ethnically-, gender- and sexually-diverse youth as well as the effects of discrimination on youth, families and historically-marginalized communities. A Rhodes Scholarship finalist, Jeff has a B.A. in psychology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in school psychology from Tulane University. He is proud to be born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Jeff learned to ice skate while living in Minnesota, and is now an adult figure skater.
Dr. Jennifer Karnopp
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership
Dr. Karnopp specializes in P-12 school leadership with a focus on how individuals in formal leadership roles guide and navigate school improvement, and how the local community, as well as state and local policy contexts, shape and are shaped by this work. She is particularly interested in improvement science and the role of formal and informal networks for facilitating improvement goals. Jenn utilizes mixed-methods research designs and social network analysis in her work. She is presently researching the implementation of a district-wide anti-bias initiative in a suburban district experiencing rapid demographic shifts. A native of New Hampshire, Jenn married her snowboarding instructor — they celebrate their 22nd anniversary this month.
Dr. Toni Saia
Assistant Professor, Department of Administration, Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education
Dr. Saia is a disabled woman with a deep commitment to social justice, inclusion and equity for all. Her professional work history has involved advocating for a progressive understanding of disability within the applied fields. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Arizona with her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. Her dissertation focused on the role of disability cultural centers in higher education — one of the only studies on this topic. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, riding roller coasters and spending time with her family.
Dr. Patricia Sánchez Lizardi
Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling and School Psychology
Dr. Sánchez Lizardi received her Ph.D. and M.A. in school psychology from the University of Arizona, and her B.A. in psychology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, where she was born and raised. She is a nationally-certified school psychologist who has practiced in Arizona, California and New Jersey, with a strong emphasis on servicing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students. Patricia was faculty at the Universidade do Estado do Amazonas in Manaus, Brazil and at the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City before joining the faculty at SDSU. Patricia’s research interests include the identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder in CLD students, particularly Spanish speaking students, the provision of educational services to CLD learners with high intensity needs and the training of bilingual school psychologists. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and joining her husband during his research campaigns related to atmospheric sciences.
