With over two decades in early childhood bilingual education, Bernadette Pilar Zermeño brings deep expertise and heart to her work. As a trilingual and multiracial Latina woman, her passion for education is rooted in her lived experiences and commitment for fair opportunity for all multilingual and historically underserved learners. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Early Childhood from Mills College, an MA in Education with a bilingual multiple subject teaching credential, and a BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley.

Bernadette most recently served as the Multilingual PK3 Lead Professor at EDvance College, where she supported early childhood educators—many rooted in the communities they serve—in deepening their knowledge and advancing their practice. Her previous roles include Multilingual Specialist with Oakland Unified’s ELLMA and Early Childhood departments and professional development leader and coach for Fluent Seeds. She has designed and led Transitional Kindergarten and Dual Language programs across the Bay Area, working with teacher candidates and educators from PreK through university levels.

At Stand, Bernadette brings her innovative spirit, deep pedagogical expertise, and strong advancement for early learners to strengthen the capacity of Preschool, TK, and Kindergarten educators—especially those serving newcomers, refugee students, and multilingual communities. Her role includes supporting partners, contributing to new curricular features, and collaborating across teams to ensure the successful delivery of the Great First Eight, in both English and Spanish.

Outside of work, Bernadette enjoys the ocean and swimming with sharks. She finds joy and laughter in spending time with her two vibrant children and amazing husband. She especially loves cheering on her daughter in Mexican ballet folklórico and her son at the skatepark.