MEET DR. YVETTE LATUNDE

Hello and welcome! I am a Professor of Organizational Leadership and Co-Director of the La Fetra College of Education Center for Educational Equity and Intercultural Research (CEEIR) at the University of Laverne. As I navigated higher education and public schools, I found myself needing to engage in frequent self-care and purposeful interactions with my communities in order to thrive. I have used those strategies to raise successful children, maintain a healthy marriage and friendships, and to attain promotion and tenure at predominately White institutions.

Over the years I have published and presented locally and internationally on family, school, and community partnerships. I am also a mindfulness coach (principals) contracted with large districts in southern California and run a consulting firm called Bridges Leadership and Education Services, where we provide high-quality content for county offices and districts on inclusion, neurodiversity, family, school, and community partnerships, and leadership. 

Besides my children, some of the work I am most proud of are the faith-based partnerships I have developed with families, churches, schools, and community organizations over the years. I take these learnings with me and integrate them into my research, teaching, and leadership practices. Some of those new learnings are detailed in my article: The role of skills-based interventions and setting on the engagement of diverse families and my book: Research in Parental Involvement: Methods and Strategies for Education and Psychology. 

I have been able to play a significant role in the formation, and implementation of African American Parent Councils and some of how I conceptualize and practice this work are detailed in The Journal of Negro Education, Volume 87, Issue 3.