Joanna Vazquez Zelaya serves as deputy director of community engagement, driving efforts to close equity gaps by building partnerships with California communities and ensuring CCGI’s work is centered on the needs and experiences of students, families, and educators.  Prior to joining CCGI, she worked with Oakland Unified School District, where she designed and managed the implementation of local policy that generated supplemental revenue to redesign traditional high schools into Linked Learning career academies. Back in her home of Southern California, she led and contributed to advocacy efforts to improve the educational outcomes and experiences for Latino/a students in Los Angeles. Joanna earned her M.P.A. from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and her B.A. from UCLA.