Dr. Jacqueline L. Sanderlin (Dr. Jackie) is an accomplished educator, empowerment speaker, and leadership guru whose commitment to urban school-communities has led to dramatic improvements in some of Southern California’s toughest schools!

She is the author of The Why Not Challenge: Say Yes to Success with School-Community Partnerships. Her passion and expertise for community partnerships is unparalleled! She has been able to forge sustainable partnerships with over 350+ corporations and local businesses with under-served schools.

In addition, she has trained numerous educational and corporate teams about best practices for successful community partnerships. In a time of such vitriol and division, Dr. Jackie has been outspoken about her “Why not?” message, which is to build community, unity, equity and partnerships. She believes there is no better time than now to build unity!

Dr. Jackie holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications/Public Relations and a Master of Arts Degree in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

She also earned a dual Doctorate in Ministry (D.Min.) and (EdD) Education, Leadership, Administration, and Policy from Pepperdine University. Since 2012, she has been a college professor at Argosy University, Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University where she has taught education administration, school law, community engagement, teacher education, social-emotional learning, special education, and organizational leadership.

She has served over 30 years as a special education teacher, curriculum specialist, assistant principal, principal, district administrator and executive director of school and community engagement. She currently serves on the Board of the Goldie Hawn Foundation, MindUP, and Social Emotional Learning Alliance for California (SEL4CA).

Dr. Jackie’s ability to create community partnerships eventually made its way to the silver screen, as the consulting producer of the NBC reality series, School Pride. This program renovated schools across the country, and provided the foundation for her “Why Not?” approach.

She is currently the CEO of the Why Not Incubator, which is a non-profit organization designed to provide community partnership coaching about unity, wellness, community, equity and racial healing.