Safe and Healthy Conditions for Improved Teaching & Learning
With safe, supportive, and equitable conditions, all learners can thrive. WestEd offers guidance to address the diverse needs of the whole person — including young people and the adults who care for and teach them — to create equitable opportunities for success in school, career, and life. Our work helps to advance the well-being of children, students, families, and school communities.
Christina Pate
Senior Program Associate
Promoting adult well-being and centering equity
With extensive experience, Christina brings deep understanding and expertise to her work to enhance social-emotional development and mental health, enhance systemwide leadership and collaboration, and strengthen organizational climate and culture. In addition to fostering adult and learner well-being, Christina’s work promotes cross-sector collaboration and centers equity to improve outcomes for individuals and systems.
She is the author of one of WestEd’s most downloaded reports in the past year, Self-Care Strategies for Educators During Coronavirus Crisis. Cristina is also a leading voice for the Equity Accelerator Initiative, which is part of the COVID Education Equity Response Collaborative–an effort focused on accelerating equitable education for all students now and into the future.
Natalie Walrond
Director, Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities
Advancing safe, supportive, and equitable systems
Working nationally to build state and local knowledge and capacity, Natalie integrates evidence-based, equitable approaches with social and emotional well-being and development to improve academic teaching and learning. As Director of the national Center to Improve Social & Emotional Learning and School Safety at WestEd, she brings expertise to a range of whole-person initiatives, as well as knowledge of data-driven cycles of instructional improvement.
Natalie convenes experts and directs partnerships across social sectors to strengthen outcomes for children, families, and communities. At WestEd, she recently launched a set of guides (at the SEA and LEA levels) that are the foundation for new services for SEAs and LEAs to promote alignment, coherence, and strategic communications of whole person initiatives.