Dr. Parker is a professor, academic researcher, consultant and author with nearly 20 years of success in the public and private sectors. Her broad areas of expertise include academic research, social responsibility, diversity, inclusion, teaching, STEM policy, community outreach, conflict management, and strategic planning. Throughout her career, Marla has held teaching and research positions at top academic institutions including California State University-Los Angeles, Arizona State University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition, Marla is a co-founder of the Civic and Social Innovation Group at California State University-Los Angeles, which promotes creative approaches to social change. As a teacher and academic researcher, Marla has developed new approaches to leadership development and employee training. She has co-authored and contributed to over 30 publications, conference proceedings, and trainings. She also assists small nonprofits and startups focused on launching and leading social responsibility, diversity, inclusion, change management, strategic planning, and public/private alignment initiatives. Marla holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, as well as master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago (both in public administration). She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Arizona State University’s Center for Organizational Research and Design.

Dmitri Seals began his career as a public school teacher in Washington, DC, where he developed a lifelong passion for community-led, research-based social justice work that equips people to analyze the problems that face them, design their own interventions, and follow through to secure lasting change. Working as a volunteer during his doctoral studies in sociology at UC Berkeley, he founded the Bay Area Urban Debate League program in Oakland, served as a board member in its first three years, and ultimately helped the organization become financially sustainable and double the reach of its programs as Executive Director. He then founded the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League in San Jose, building it into a regional leader in youth development and crafting a set of strategies and tools for school partnership, teacher professional development, and youth-led education reform that have been modeled nationally.

Dmitri joined the sociology department at California State University, Los Angeles in 2017. Shortly after, he co-founded the Civic and Social Innovation Group along with Dr. Marla Parker to help students bridge the gap between academic learning and meaningful careers as agents of social change. He is a recipient of the UC Chancellor's Award for Public Service and the Making Democracy Work Award from the Oakland League of Women Voters.