Daniel Russell Jr.

Daniel Russell Jr.

Daniel Russell Jr., EdD, is the coordinator of research and development and lead cultural and linguistic responsiveness (CLR) coach for the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning. There, he leads training and professional development and provides one-on-one coaching in CLR. He specializes in providing training on how to align positive behavior and supports (PBIS) with CLR. Additionally, he collects and analyzes data for the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, as well as curates resources for the center’s CLR Responds to RACE Challenge.

Dr. Russell is a former classroom teacher with 21 years of experience teaching both elementary and middle school. During his tenure as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), he also served as a teacher facilitator for the Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP), an English language coordinator, a specially designed academic instruction in English trainer, and an induction coach. He also worked as a corps member advisor for a Teach for America Summer Institute. Dr. Russell followed his years working in the LAUSD by being a founding teacher at the Culture and Language Academy of Success with Dr. Sharroky Hollie. From there, he went on to work as a teacher and dean of students at a charter school in the Los Angeles area.

During his career as an educator, Dr. Russell received several recognitions. As an LAUSD intern, he was given the Golden Apple Award for being a distinguished intern. LAUSD’s AEMP also honored him with the Outstanding AEMP Facilitator and Outstanding Teacher awards. In 2005, he and his class were featured on a segment of the PBS documentary Do You Speak American? which focused on African American language and what his students learned about linguistic code-switching through AEMP. He is currently a member of the American Educational Research Association.

Dr. Russell received a bachelor’s degree in US history from San Diego State University and an EdD in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. His doctoral dissertation focused on the persistent overrepresentation of Black students in exclusionary discipline at schools implementing PBIS.