Reyan Warren and Pablo Gutierrez, candidates in Cal State San Bernardino’s Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) in educational leadership program, are the university’s 2023 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Holmes Scholars.

The Holmes Scholars Program supports racially and ethnically diverse students pursuing graduate degrees in education to be future faculty in institutions of higher education. The goal of the program is to provide mentorship, peer support and professional development opportunities to scholars.

The AACTE Holmes Program was founded in 1991 for doctoral students, who will serve as outstanding candidates for future faculty and leadership positions. CSUSB, which became part of the Holmes Scholars Program in 2021, is one of nearly 40 institutions in the program and is the first public university in California to be accepted. The CSUSB Ed.D. program, housed in the James R. Watson & Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education, is the first such program in the California State University system to join. Both Warren and Gutierrez are in the program’s cohort 17.

Gutierrez, originally from Mexico City, said that his life revolves around three pillars: God, family and friends. He is a persistent individual with a strong desire for continuous personal and professional growth. He holds a bachelor of science in actuarial science from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and an MBA with dual foci in cybersecurity and marketing management from CSUSB.

He is currently employed full-time as an international admissions evaluator at CSUSB. Throughout his professional journey, he’s gained experience working at Oracle as a business development consultant and as a sourcing recruiter.

Some of his hobbies include watching movies and series, playing video games and hiking. Traveling and exploring the world also holds a special place in his heart, as he’s been fortunate to visit many countries, but the most unforgettable experiences occurred during his study abroad programs in South Korea, China and Germany. Building friendships with individuals from various countries and backgrounds was a truly enriching experience for him.

Warren, who taught 11th grade English at Adelanto High School in Adelanto, was born in San Bernardino and raised in Victorville. A lifelong Inland Empire resident, she believes in diversifying our most critical positions of power to increase the equity and quality of education for all students.

Warren is a Silverado High School alumna and transfer graduate of Victor Valley College, and holds a bachelor’s degree, teaching credential and master’s degree in secondary education from CSUSB. Her beliefs of being a professional educator means having a mindset that can create actionable strategies to address the gaps in diversity in the education field so that all students have a voice.

She continues to pursue a passion of advocating for underrepresented groups of students and their successes beyond the high school level, and says, “As long as you keep your head to the sky, you can win.”

Warren and Gutierrez follow Audrey Millan and Sailesh Maharjan (cohort 16), Angelica Agudo (cohort 15) and Rangel Zarate (cohort 14) as CSUSB Holmes Scholars.

Millan’s research is focused on creating a holistic educational experience for neurodiverse students of color in grades 6-12. Maharjan has been an adjunct professor at CSUSB since 2017 and intends to use technology and research findings to address student mental health challenges, equitable assessment tools, student readiness, resource accessibility and inclusiveness in higher education. 

Agudo’s research focuses on access to comprehensive colleges for first-generation students of color raised in single-parent homes. Zarate’s research is focused on developing a community of care in higher education, incorporating both academic and mental health support, for Filipino American college students who have experienced or have been affected by racially targeted violence in a COVID-era.  

For more information, visit the CSUSB Holmes Scholars webpage or email edd@csusb.edu.

The Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership at CSUSB is a program framed around questions of equity, ethics and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice. The program is designed to prepare educational leaders with the knowledge base and skills to lead reform efforts that result in improved student outcomes and educational transformation, particularly for our Inland Empire region.