Throughout her career, Pía Castilleja has worked at the intersection of research and practice to support learning, emphasizing agency, equity, and inclusion.
As a member of the Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) team, Castilleja leads QTEL’s Apprenticeship Program. Drawing on the sociocultural perspective that anchors QTEL’s work, Castilleja guides educators through an intensive two-year program to provide generative experiences and cultivate sustainable and coherent learning environments for teachers of students classified as English Learners. She has supported the development of specialized cadres of certified QTEL professional developers in Clark County School District (NV) and Greater Albany Public Schools (OR).
Collaborating with local and state education agencies, Castilleja has supported educators in creating coherent systemwide efforts in service of multilingual learners, such as her recent work with the Rhode Island Department of Education dual-language expansion initiative, and with the Providence Public School District. Through teacher professional learning, she supports educators in dual-language programs with emphasis on Spanish language development.
Castilleja has worked for a variety of organizations nationally and internationally, including the Mexican Foreign Service and the World Bank, where she brought research and practice together to enhance program design and implementation in service of interagency collaboration and professional education. She has supported development efforts in Latin America to ensure gender equity and inclusion.
A native of Mexico, Castilleja received a BA in Sociology and Religion and an MA in Policy and International Development from Columbia University. She is currently completing her PhD in Organization Studies and Teacher Learning at Stanford University.