Laura Zavala
Director of Policy and Research

Gender Pronouns: she, her, hers

Laura is a daughter of immigrants from Mexico and was raised in Long Beach, CA. She began her passion for educational justice while receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Chicanx/Latinx Studies at the University of California, Irvine, where she helped lead organizing outreach and retention programming for historically disenfranchised students and communities of color. She later earned her Master of Education degree from the University of Utah School of Education: Education, Culture, and Society program in Salt Lake City, Utah. There she worked as an Oral History Coordinator as part of a community, school and university partnership at a local Elementary school with English-Spanish Dual immersion students. 

As the Director of Research and Policy for InnerCity Struggle, her focus includes: Full-Service Community Schools, Comprehensive School-Based Wellness Centers, Local Control Funding Formula/Local Control Accountability Plan and local and statewide policy regarding Education and Racial Justice. Her role is centered in connecting grassroots organizing strategies with advocacy and policy development.