Sunshine Arena Cavalluzzi (@GoldenHawkCav) is a social science teacher, Mock Trial coach, and Law Academy coordinator at El Dorado High School (her alma mater!) in Placentia, CA. Sunshine typically teaches AP Government, college prep government and econ, an introductory and a capstone law course, and maybe also an elective, and relishes integrating civics and the arts into whatever classes are on her schedule. She was honored to be named a 2012 Orange County Teacher of the Year, a 2013 and 2014 GRAMMY Museum Jane Ortner Educating Through Music Award recipient, and a 2017-19 C-SPAN Senior Fellow and loves the collaborative work she gets to do with the ABA, C-SPAN, Library of Congress, GRAMMY Museum, and California LAW.
A summa cum laude graduate of UC San Diego with degrees in political science and history, she is passionate about all facets of social science, but is even more passionate about her privilege to be a small part of the extraordinary stories of her amazing students and help them expand their sense of the possible– to discover talents they weren’t sure they had, experience the joy of working hard toward –and achieving!– mighty goals, and develop a passion for making a positive difference in our world as voters, citizens, and activists. Though Sunshine loves her teaching job fiercely, her favorite occupation is parenthood- she relishes every moment she spends talking, laughing, reading, cooking, coaching, rehearsing, surfing, swimming, cheering, and traveling with her husband Tony and their three children, Lucy, J.D., and Micah.
