61Carmen Reid from Alameda, CA, is an educator, researcher, and community leader devoted to connecting history, education, and public service in practical and lasting ways. Her career reflects a deep commitment to cultural preservation, equitable learning, and civic engagement. Through her teaching, archival work, and community leadership, she has developed programs that make learning and history accessible to broader audiences while strengthening local institutions.
Carmen’s work spans classrooms, museums, and civic programs. She focuses on helping organizations link education and history with the needs of their communities. Her belief that education should prepare people to understand the past and shape the future guides every project she leads.
She earned her Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2025 after completing a dual bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Spanish Language and Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. As a J. William Fulbright Scholar in Barcelona, she researched Catalonian Jews through primary archival materials, deepening her understanding of cultural identity and historical preservation. Her academic journey helped her develop practical skills in program design and public policy that she applies to real-world work.
Teaching has remained one of Carmen’s central commitments. She has taught Spanish at middle and high school levels, redesigned language curricula to create engaging lessons, and introduced after-school arts, music, theater, and science programs. At Dover Elementary, she worked as a reading intervention specialist, supporting bilingual students through personalized reading plans and family collaboration. These experiences gave her an inside view of students' barriers, particularly those tied to language differences and limited access to resources.
Her time as an admissions reader further shaped her understanding of educational systems. Carmen reviewed thousands of applications each year and witnessed the direct link between admissions decisions and individual opportunity. This work reinforced her belief that educational access must be fair, inclusive, and transparent.
Carmen’s dedication to historic preservation began at the Alameda Museum, where she created a teen docent program that encouraged high school students to explore and share their community’s history. She also directed a digitization effort that cataloged over 2,000 artifacts, making them available to researchers, teachers, and residents. She later expanded her work to maritime preservation, completing a National Register nomination for the U.S. Maritime Service Officers Training School and publishing maritime history articles in veteran and trade journals. Her goal in this work has always been to connect people with their heritage in engaging and enduring ways.
While at Harvard, Carmen conducted research at the Peabody Museum, focusing on collaboration between museums and tribal communities. Her project resulted in a feasibility report for the Eastern Shoshone Tribal Government, which offered practical recommendations for curation, programming, and compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). She viewed this effort as a partnership, emphasizing that community voices must guide cultural preservation.
Carmen’s civic engagement also reflects her dedication to transparency and service. She served on Alameda’s Open Government Commission, promoting public accountability, and worked with the American Merchant Marine Veterans to lead campaigns that inspired over 1,500 letters and calls supporting historic preservation. Her leadership earned her recognition as Volunteer of the Year in 2023. That same year, she spoke to over 10,000 attendees at UC Berkeley’s Chancellor’s Welcome, sharing insights on civic responsibility and community involvement.
His publications cover maritime history, cultural preservation, and policy analysis, appearing in outlets such as Marine Log and local history journals. Her writing style is practical and community-focused, intended to inform and inspire real-world impact rather than remain confined to academic circles.
Carmen Reid’s approach distinguishes itself by its balance of structure and empathy. She builds systems that last beyond her involvement, whether through a teen docent program, a digitized collection, or an improved admissions process. Her collaborative leadership focuses on supporting those who carry the work forward.
Outside of her professional life, Carmen Reid of Alameda enjoys painting botanicals—some of which have been exhibited at SF State—and learning traditional printing through letterpress courses. Fluent in Spanish and Catalan, she also loves cooking for family and friends, seeing food as another way to celebrate stories and cultural heritage.
Currently dividing her time between Cambridge, MA, and the San Francisco Bay Area, Carmen focuses on projects that bring local history into public life, strengthen partnerships with tribal communities, and expand access to education. Her guiding belief remains steady: history and education should be active, inclusive, and shared resources that help communities understand their past and shape a more thoughtful future.