Esmeralda Marcial (she/her/hers) joins EdTrust-West as the Manager of External Relations with a background in organizing, electoral campaign management, community engagement, local policymaking, and advocacy. Esmeralda’s passion for educational equity sparked from her experience attending Belmont High School in Los Angeles, which was, at the time, one of the most overcrowded high schools in Southern California. This experience led her to advocate for underserved students like herself. Since then, she has dedicated her entire career to helping communities engage in education advocacy.

Before joining the EdTrust-West team, she was the Director of Community Engagement for the youngest Latina Board Member and Board President of the LA Unified Board of Education, Kelly Gonez. In this role, she helped advance K-12 education policy within LAUSD by creating meaningful programs to engage constituents and partners in the policy development process. In addition to this work, she brings her creative skillset in public relations and social media management to EdTrust-West. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Interpersonal Communication from California State University, Los Angeles.

As the Manager of External Relations, she is responsible for building relationships between EdTrust-West’s regional staff and partner organizations. She supports our CORE Collective program and engages with key advocates and allies to close opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income families in California.

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