Sonal Patel

Dr. Sonal Patel serves as a Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley’s School of Education while concurrently holding the role of Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the San Leandro Unified School District. Her work spans K-12 education reform, emphasizing equity and inclusion through culturally sustaining pedagogy. She integrates antiracist frameworks into teacher education and school leadership programs.

Educationally, she holds a BA in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz, an MA in Education from UC Berkeley, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from California State University, East Bay. She is credentialed in teaching with bilingual Spanish certification and holds an Administrative Services Credential.

Her research interests focus on empowering marginalized students through responsive literacy instruction, universal design for learning, and policy-driven school transformation. She advises future educators and leaders through the Berkeley Teacher Education Program (BTEP) and Principal Leadership Institute (PLI), fostering multilingual pedagogies and family collaboration.

Dr. Patel serves on national and international advisory boards including Teaching Tolerance and the Arctic University of Tromsø-led global teacher education network. Her work emphasizes bridging policy, practice, and community engagement to create just educational systems.