Camille Medrano

Senior Associate Educator Engagement

Camille Medrano (she/her/hers) joins The Education Trust–West as a Senior Educator Engagement Associate. From her experiences navigating the education system in direct service roles across education, and through graduate studies in education policy, she found purpose in working toward educational justice and opportunity for all students.

Prior to joining Ed Trust–West, Camille worked to engage undergraduate students in service as a Los Angeles-based recruiter for City Year, leaning into her experience as a City Year AmeriCorps Member alumni. Her first role out of college was serving with City Year Los Angeles where she built relationships with students and partnerships with teachers which initiated her interest in education policy and systems change. Camille continued working with students, families, and school staff as a college advisor with USC College Advising Corps, where she built expertise in college access by supporting first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented high school students in pursuing their post-secondary goals. She relocated to Seattle, WA for graduate studies in Education Policy at the University of Washington, where many of her projects focused on closing opportunity gaps in college access for students of color. Camille worked on campus in the Community Engagement and Leadership Education Center developing programming and supporting undergraduate students through their internships with community-based organizations. Additionally, she worked with Washington STEM as a Policy and Advocacy Intern supporting research, partnership, and advocacy efforts for the organization’s cradle-to-career approach toward equity in STEM education. Upon completion of her graduate studies, she came home to Southern California and returned to City Year, creating a full circle in her previous professional experiences.

She is a proud first-generation college graduate with a B.A. in English and Communication from UC Davis and M.Ed. in Education Policy from the University of Washington.

 

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  • Los Angeles, CA
Dual Enrollment Programs
College Access
Technical Assistance to Schools and Colleges

Karla Fernandez

Communications Manager

Karla Fernandez (she/her/hers) joins Ed Trust–West as a Communications Manager with over 11 years of experience advancing social impact initiatives.

Karla started her career as a teacher at Chicago Public Schools and UIC College Prep. After teaching, Karla joined United Friends of the Children to support LA County’s youth in foster care as a college counselor. Through Leadership for Educational Equity, Karla also served as a Policy Advisor Fellow for the office of a Los Angeles Unified School Board Member. She solidified her interests in policy analysis and quantitative research during her time with the Price Center for Social Innovation, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and the USC Presidential Working Group on Sustainability. Before joining The Education Trust–West, Karla was the Associate Director for the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Collaborative, a network of nonprofits advocating for communities in SELA.

Karla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, a Master of Public Policy from the USC Price School of Public Policy, and a Graduate Certificate in Policy Advocacy from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Karla is based out of southern California and is passionate about using data analysis, communications, and digital strategies for policy advocacy and social justice efforts.