Nina Portugal

Nina (she/her) is passionate about students, equity, and continuous improvement. Nina spent 9 years teaching High School English, 7 of which in Oakland Unified School District focusing on English Language Development, Strategic Reading, English and Ethnic Studies education. Prior to teaching in Oakland, Nina taught English at a bilingual high school in Spain and at a public Charter School in South Chicago.  While in the Classroom, Nina focused on lifting up her student’s voices through the development of participatory politics and authentic experiences in partnership with Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age (EDDA),  Youth Voices, Peralta Hacienda, and integrated project work. Nina has spoken at the California Career Pathways Consortia and California Partnership Academies Educating for Careers Conference, Connected Learning Conference, California Steam Symposium, and the Carnegie Foundation Summit on Improvement in Education. In 2017, Nina was named Californians for Justice Teacher of the Year and in 2020 a NBC Bay Area Sports All-Star Teacher finalist. While teaching in Oakland, Nina’s former school partnered with Lead by Learning to build a robust culture of collaborative inquiry and teacher leadership. Currently the Director of Visibility and Community Engagement, Nina is honored and excited to share Lead by Learning with educators nationwide. Nina received her B.A. in English from the University of Southern California and her M.A. in Education from Loyola Marymount University.