Senior Program Officer

“My own childhood and school experiences living in poverty and being Puerto Rican gave me the opportunity to see first hand how racism and poverty impacted my education journey. In my view, “those most affected” are families who live their lives mostly in survival mode and whose children attend substandard and under-resourced schools. What excites me most about working toward equity in education is the opportunity to partner with people of color and people living in poverty to gain access to a fair and quality education, develop their civic engagement skills, learn about and exercise their rights, and choose their own futures.”

Carmen leads the Program Implementation Team, which develops initiatives that address achieving equity in education by working with and listening closely to the communities that are most impacted by racism and poverty. The goal is to identify and partner with community-based nonprofits and grassroots leaders who work hand in hand with those most affected to challenge institutional policies and practices that perpetuate unfair treatment and inequitable systems that are detrimental to people of color and people living in poverty.