Lange Luntao

Director of External Relations

At Education Trust–West, Lange Luntao (he/him/his) works closely with his colleagues to drive high-impact campaigns that achieve meaningful policy victories for students of color and students living in poverty. As a third-generation public school teacher who was born and raised in Stockton, California, Lange’s work is grounded in the recognition that students, educators, and community members all have a critical role to play in pursuing educational justice — and he works to equip all of these stakeholders with the information and organizing opportunities needed to build policymaking power.

Before his current position, Lange served as the Founding Executive Director of the Reinvent Stockton Foundation, a charitable organization that builds world-class cradle-to-career programming and systems of support in the Central Valley. He also served on the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees from 2016 to 2020 (as the first out gay man elected to public office in Stockton’s history) and was President of the Board in 2019. Before his work in nonprofit and school district leadership, Lange was a high school ethnic studies teacher and worked as a community organizer promoting college and career readiness, restorative practices, and an end to the school-to-prison pipeline. Lange is a proud product of California’s K-12 public school system. He later earned his B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University, a Social Studies Teaching Credential from Loyola Marymount University, and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University. Lange is also an alumnus of Education Pioneers and was a Fulbright Fellow to Malaysia.

“In 1937, after spending his winters picking asparagus and his falls in class at Fresno Community College, my lolo (grandfather) Celestino was one of the first Filipino-American graduates of UC Berkeley. Despite the fact that he had been stripped of U.S. residency three years prior by Congressional legislation, he knew that public education was the surest route to my family’s resiliency and success. Informed by this history and inspired by the many Californians who have succeeded in institutions that were not originally built for them, my mission is to build educational opportunity and access for all of our state’s children.”

 

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  • Oakland, CA
TK-12
Educator Diversity
Ethnic Studies and Inclusive Curriculum
Strategy
Community & Regional Engagement

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.