Dear Colleagues,
As we wrap up 2025, we’re reflecting on what this year has encompassed for the Network. As an organization that prides itself on its people-first approach, we’re excited to share some of our staff’s favorites for the year. The Network is fortunate to have an exceptional and diverse team behind all of the work that we do.
We are also proud of the partnerships and engagement we’ve fostered over the last year, including students, staff, faculty, and administrators from all of the CSU campuses and the system office through multiple academies and convenings.
While the current sociopolitical climate is extraordinarily tumultuous and has created barriers to the advancement of equity efforts in higher education, the Network remains steadfast in our purpose—to support CSU students, staff, administrators, and faculty as they embrace their power to imagine, plan for, and implement systems and practices that center equitable student learning, engagement, progression, and completion. We look forward to partnering and engaging with you to continue our work to advancing equitable outcomes for California’s students in 2026.
Wishing you Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year,
Dr. Madeleine Kerrick, Executive Director, Education Insights Center (EdInsights)
The Network is facilitated by EdInsights at Sacramento State, an independent research and policy center devoted to student success and the public benefits of education.
We asked Network leaders to answer one final icebreaker of the year. What are you most proud of and what are you looking forward to in 2026?
Ellie Clifford Ertle, Ed.D., Middle Leadership Academy Director
“This year, I was most proud of completing another successful Middle Leadership Academy (Academy) cycle and launching 10 campus project designed to support and sustain student success and equity. I am looking forward to the launch of a newly redesigned Academy. The leadership and planning team have been working hard to thoughtfully update the Academy to center servingness and focus more clearly on equity in the current political climate. We have a newly redesigned application and application process, an updated and improved facilitator onboarding and support program, and an enhanced Academy.”
Larissa Mercado Lopez, Ph.D., Convenings Director
“As we move into the new year, I remain inspired by the sustained commitment to servingness expressed by so many of our Fall 2025 convening attendees. Middle leaders are proving to stay grounded in our central mission of providing an accessible, equitable, and high-quality education for Californians–in spite of the challenges that threaten our core values.”
Arnab Mukherjea, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Middle Leadership Academy Director
“The opportunity to work with such tremendous leaders in the Network — transcending appointment, rank, campus, and experience — has been a true honor in my role as CSU Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Middle Leadership Academy Director. It is clear to me that shared vision and common purpose facilitate the development a strong structural foundation for student success and social mobility, which will not only enable the students served by the CSU to succeed in their respective campuses, but also reach their true potential in professional and social impact.”
Adam Petersen, Ph.D., Advisory Board Chair
“I am immensely proud of the reflective and proactive work the Advisory Board has done this fall as we have directly engaged with what it means to serve as a Network during a time of such uncertainty, both in the daily lives of middle leaders on individual campuses and for the future of our profession and the very concept of higher education. Our discussions have been grounded by a collective acknowledgment that while times like these drive us into isolation and a narrowed view, the way forward is collaborative, appreciative, compassionate, and supportive; we survive not by separating but by coming closer together.”