Developing Innovative Leaders

UCLA Lab School provides an inspiring and challenging environment where both adults and children can develop their skills and stretch their thinking. Teachers who have worked or trained here go on to teach at and lead public schools, taking the educational philosophy and teaching practices to other communities. Many of our students grow up to be leaders who use their knowledge and skills to make a positive difference in the world.

Eric Garcetti (’82), Los Angeles City Council President

Eric Garcetti is a fourth-generation Angeleno. One of the youngest council members in the city's history when he was elected in 2001, Garcetti represents a district where more than 100 languages are spoken. An educator and an expert on race relations, government efficiency, public policy, and economic development, Garcetti was one of only 24 Americans selected as a Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellow. He said his years at the lab school helped prepare him for a leadership role: “UCLA Lab School fundamentally set me on a course that changed my life. It taught me global history and helped me to understand the city of my birth and cultures and traditions far afield… These lessons helped me to know myself and to embrace the world around me."

Muriel Ifekwunigwe, R.N., M.P.H., Ed.D., UCLA Lab School and El Rincon Elementary School, Culver City

In addition to her role as a health educator, Dr. Ifekwunigwe helps low income families acquire needed health services, connecting them to community, government and private resources. She also oversees the work of nursing students from Mount St. Mary’s College and UCLA, providing leadership and training to the next generation of health professionals. Recently Dr. Ifekwunigwe celebrated 35 years at the lab school. Multiply that by the hundreds of students and parents she counsels each year and all the lives they have touched—that’s a very big impact.

Josh Miller (’02), Founder and President, Resilient Youth Foundation

While he was still in high school, Josh Miller became an inspired and dedicated community activist. He received many honors for his work, including a CNN Hero Award. Now a student at Princeton University, Josh is building on that work and looking to make an even greater impact with his foundation’s latest initiative, a set of web based tools called VOICE, HELP and NEWS. From organizing and simplifying news about current events to providing a link between constituents and elected officials, the sites are designed to support active and engaged citizenship.

Norma Silva, Lisa Schaeffer, Judy Perlmutter, Para Los Niños Charter Elementary and Middle Schools

The Para Los Niños Charter Schools provide high-quality education in a safe, nurturing environment to children living near Los Angeles’ Skid Row. At their helm are three educators who first made their mark at UCLA Lab School: Norma Silva, principal of the elementary school; Lisa Schaeffer, the elementary school’s curriculum director; and Judy Perlmutter, principal of the middle school. All say their time at UCLA Lab School provided valuable opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and to explore ways to create individualized instruction. “Our program is designed to communicate to every student that we value their knowledge and we believe in their potential,” Silva said. “The key is to listen to students and to honor what you learn from them.”