CRLP Staff

Sarah Peterson
California Reading & Literature Project
Regional Director

   sgpeterson@ucsd.edu

Sarah Peterson is the Regional Director of the California Reading and Literature Project, a position she has held since July 2016. Prior to becoming the Director, Sarah served over a decade as a classroom teacher in the National School District, located 10 miles from the US-Mexico border in South San Diego as well as a long-time Support Provider for Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA).  After earning her M.Ed. and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with a Bilingual CLAD Emphasis (Spanish) from UC San Diego, Sarah developed her capacity for teaching early literacy and working with English Learners in diverse instructional contexts (late-exit bilingual education, early-exit bilingual education, structured English immersion) and grade levels.

Sarah first became involved with CRLP UC San Diego after attending a Teacher Leadership Invitational in 2011.  Soon after her first Invitational, Sarah completed CRLP Results: Academic Language and Literacy Instruction (RALLI) training and observed growth in her students’ oral, written, and reading achievement.  Now the Regional Director, Sarah is an example of how the California Reading and Literature Project cultivates sustained teacher leadership development. Her professional passions include side-by-side lesson planning and co-teaching and promoting educational equity through student-voice-led programs, such as #USvsHate (usvshate.org).

Sarah resides in the Kensington area of San Diego in a 105-year-old Craftsman bungalow with her husband.  Sarah is a proud mama of three feisty young children, enjoys training for and running half marathons, reading novellas/short stories, adores watching historical dramas (Victoria, The Crown, Downtown Abbey) and looks forward to embarking on long family road trips in the near future.


Clarissa White
California Reading & Literature Project
Program Manager/ CREATE HR Manager

                                      c3white@ucsd.edu

Clarissa White is the Program and Logistics Manager that runs the day to day front end administrative logistics of the California Reading and Literature Project. She has been with the California Reading and Literature Project since November of 2018, but with UC San Diego since 2005. Clarissa’s worked in both academic affairs and student affairs along side staff, faculty, undergraduates and graduates. She finds her career to be the most rewarding with now being able to work along side K-14 teachers and students.

When Clarissa is not working, she is enjoying some sort of selfcare, finding time to catch up on the latest Netflix shows or reading a good book.