META Champions

What is a META Champion?

META Champions are educators, students, and community leaders who go above and beyond to uplift multilingual learners and create inclusive, language-friendly environments. They embody the spirit of equity, advocacy, and innovation—bringing their unique voices and experiences to the forefront of educational transformation in California’s Central Valley and beyond.
Whether mentoring newcomers, leading professional development, or shaping linguistically and culturally responsive curriculum, META Champions are role models who inspire others and drive meaningful change.

Meet Our META Champions

Celebrating educators and leaders who are transforming education through multilingual empowerment and cultural inclusion.

Dr. Milton Chen

Executive Director Emeritus
George Lucas Education Foundation

Jim Cummins

Professor Emeritus
Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Eugene Park

Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Parsec Education

Babatunde Ilori

Chief Executive Officer at Parsec Education

Upcoming Conference

META 2026

February 20-21, 2026

Possibility, Potential, & Promise for Language Learners

Stanislaus County Office of Education
1100 H Street, Modesto, CA 95354

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At the March on Washington, Rev. King spoke of the “fierce urgency of now.” Milton Chen will reflect on his own personal journey to learn Chinese and why state, national, and global issues have created an urgent need for educating more multilingual learners.

Dr. MILTON CHEN ’s career has focused on educational innovation, including practices such as effective use of media and technology; teacher and parent education; real-world and project-based curricula; and community partnerships between schools, universities, libraries, and museums. He has been an advocate for global learning and multicultural and multilingual education.

Dr. Chen is senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), producers of the Edutopia.org website on innovative K-12 learning. He was founding director of the KQED Center for Education (PBS) in San Francisco; director of research at Sesame Workshop in New York; and an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a trustee of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and former trustee of Sesame Workshop, Panasonic Foundation, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Dr. Chen has received the Fred Rogers Award from Corporation for Public Broadcasting and been named an Honorary National Park Ranger and a Jedi Master by George Lucas!

Jim Cummins research focuses on literacy development in educational contexts characterized by linguistic and socioeconomic diversity. In numerous articles/books, he has explored the nature of language proficiency and its relationship to literacy development, with particular emphasis on the intersection of societal power relations, teacher-student identity negotiation, and literacy attainment.

In recent years, he has contributed to debates surrounding early reading instruction, emphasizing that the scientific evidence highlights the need to take account of the impact of literacy socialization in the preschool years. Additionally, effective literacy instruction requires that educators focus their instruction equally on maximizing students’ active engagement with literacy and on building students’ knowledge of how language works across the curriculum (from sound / symbol relationships in early grades to critical multilingual language awareness as students progress through the grades).

Cummins has collaborated with California educators for many years. He was one of the authors of the 1981 CDE volume, Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework, and has been a frequent CABE conference presenter since the 1980s. CABE published and distributed two of his books: Empowering Minority Students (1989), and Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society (1st edition, 1996; 2nd edition, 2001). He also collaborated with Dr. Raymond Isola, former principal of Sanchez School in San Francisco’s Mission District in writing the book Transforming Sanchez School: Shared leadership, equity, and evidence (2019, Caslon Publishing). He has received honorary doctorates from five universities in North America and Europe in recognition of his contributions to issues of educational equity and multilingual education.

Since META’s founding, Dr. Cummins has been a dedicated and loyal supporter of META’s work. He has been a speaker at META’s conferences and events, and has graciously co-presented with META board members Francisca Sánchez and Liliana Sánchez at state and national conferences.

Eugene Park is the Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Parsec Education, where he drives the development of tools and strategies that empower schools to harness data for meaningful impact. Eugene founded Parsec because he recognized a
critical gap in education: while schools collected large volumes of data, they often lacked the capacity to make it actionable.

Before launching Parsec, Eugene served as a key analyst at Madera Unified School District, leading innovative projects that supported district leaders in building tools to improve student achievement.

Babatunde Ilori is the Chief Executive Officer at Parsec Education, where he leads strategic growth, business development, and operational excellence. Under his leadership, Parsec successfully launched a new product, Real, reinforcing its commitment to providing innovative solutions that help schools unlock the full potential of their data—with additional products on the horizon.

Before joining Parsec, Babatunde served as Executive Director of Accountability and Communications at Madera Unified School District, spearheading strategic initiatives to enhance transparency and performance outcomes with a focus on the LCAP. He also held key roles at Fresno Unified School District, including Director of Equity and Access and Chief of Staff, where he focused on advancing equitable practices and operational efficiency.

In recognition of his visionary leadership and dedication to educational equity, Babatunde was honored with the NAACP Madera Branch’s 2025 W.E.B. DuBois Freedom Trailblazer Award. This award honors individuals who exemplify visionary leadership, a commitment to equity, and a lasting impact on their communities. These are values we strive to carry forward in everything we do at Parsec Education!

Parsec Education’s mission is to improve and transform K–12 education and student outcomes through modernizing, evaluating, improving, and standardizing the way schools view, interpret, and respond to data. Since 2023, Parsec Education has been a powerful supporter of and advocate for META and META’s vision, mission, and core work.