Elizabeth Kleinrock

Liz Kleinrock is an anti-bias elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, California. A transracial adoptee, Liz was born in South Korea and grew up in a Jewish family in Washington, DC. She attended Sidwell Friends School from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, followed by Washington University in St. Louis. After graduating, Liz moved to Oakland, California, where she served as an AmeriCorps member for two years and taught an at-risk class of 1st and 2nd graders in Title-1 schools in East and West Oakland. Fully convinced and determined to continue down the teaching path, Liz moved to Los Angeles, where she attended UCLA's Teacher Education Program. After spending a year student teaching a 5th grade class at 122nd St. Elementary in Watts, Liz was hired as a founding staff member at Citizens of the World Charter School Silver Lake. Liz earned her M.Ed in 2013, completing her thesis on social and emotional learning based on research conducted with her students.

During her time at Citizens of the World Charter School, Liz was accepted as part of Teach Plus Teaching Policy's 2014 cohort, where she met with local and national educational leaders and collaborated with fellow Los Angeles teachers to propose policy reform around teacher preparation programs. She is also a published author with Teaching Tolerance, and has been featured in LA Parent Magazine and a documentary short produced by Fluid Films. Recently, Liz presented workshops for social justice educators at UCLA's Conference on Community Wellness, and Education First's Conference on Social and Emotional Learning in Convening Districts, and founded Teach and Transform, an organization to help teachers and schools develop social justice and anti-bias programs. She is also proud to announce that she is a top 10 finalist for Teaching Tolerance's 2018 Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Liz can be followed on Instagram @teachandtransform, or reached at liz@teachandtransform.org

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