Dr. Elizabeth Guneratne

Elizabeth (Liz) Guneratne has been a leader in educational transformation on a local and systemic level for the past seventeen years. As Principal of Moreau Catholic High School, Liz empowers faculty and students to harness their passion and cultivate outstanding achievement. Before joining the Mariner family, Liz was a member of the Santa Clara University School of Education faculty and taught in the Educational Leadership Program. She also served for four years as an assistant superintendent and WCEA/WASC accreditation commissioner for Diocese of Oakland. Prior to this, Liz has served as a high school teacher, special needs director, and elementary school principal. Liz has a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco and earned her doctorate in the Leadership for Educational Equity Program at UC Berkeley.

Liz focuses on educational leadership and systemic reform to transform schools and sustain learning communities of excellence and equity. Specifically, her research explores the adoption of educational technology as an instrument to strengthen teaching and learning; innovative professional learning experiences to support formative assessment practices for both classroom teachers and school principals; and how school leaders balance the technical, normative and political demands of technology-related reform. Based in part on her expertise in this area, Liz served as the Project Lead and Diocesan Liaison for Lumen Christi Academies, a new Catholic Schools network in the Diocese of Oakland.

Liz consults and presents locally and nationally, sharing her experiences as a scholar and practitioner with groups including the National Catholic Educational Association, California League of Middle Schools, Alliance for Catholic Education at Notre Dame University, and various individual dioceses and districts. She supports K-12 educators with school accreditation, professional learning, instructional leadership in the common core and national standards, and the use of data in school improvement.