With a career spanning several renowned educational institutions, Dr. Ruth Pérez previously served as the Deputy Superintendent of Schools at the Riverside County Office of Education. She has also served as the Superintendent of the Paramount Unified School District, catering to the communities of Paramount, Long Beach, Lakewood, and Bellflower. During her tenure in Paramount, she spearheaded an Education Foundation initiative that secured an impressive sum of over $250,000 in student scholarships. Additionally, Dr. Pérez successfully led a school bond campaign amounting to $106 million, dedicated to enhancing district facilities and providing students with one-to-one technology access.

Dr. Pérez' professional journey is marked by an array of distinguished leadership roles across the nation. She held the position of Deputy Superintendent of Instruction for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Superintendent for the Norwalk-La Miranda Unified School District, Chief Academic Officer in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, and Area Superintendent in Orange County Public Schools in Florida. Her commitment to educational excellence is evident in her involvement in esteemed organizations such as the National Association of Administrators and School Superintendents (AASA) as a Governing Board Member, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) as a member of the Superintendents Council, and the Southern Superintendent’s Association in California. Dr. Pérez currently serves on the Board of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS).

Dr. Pérez' educational achievements include a Doctorate and Master's degrees obtained from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, as well as a Bachelor's degree from Queen's University of the City University of New York. Her personal background as an English Language Learner from Puerto Rico, educated in the New York City Public School system, fuels her unwavering dedication to improving student achievement and outcomes for all students, with a particular focus on the underserved and English language learners.

Furthermore, Dr. Pérez is deeply committed to acting as a role model and mentor, providing guidance to emerging leaders aspiring to attain higher leadership positions. She understands the challenges and rewards associated with the superintendent position and endeavors to support and nurture aspiring leaders throughout their professional journeys.

David Hart brings decades of leadership in public education finance and municipal administration to his role as Chief Financial Officer at the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Prior to joining LACOE, Mr. Hart served as Interim Associate Superintendent of Business Services for the West Contra Costa Unified School District during the 2024–25 fiscal year. He previously held the position of Chief Business Officer at the Los Angeles Unified School District for five years, where he oversaw strategic financial operations for one of the nation’s largest school systems.

Mr. Hart’s career also includes nearly three years at Cherry Creek School District, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and later expanded his responsibilities to include Chief Operating Officer. His earlier roles include serving as CFO for both Denver Public Schools and Douglas County School District, where he also held the position of Budget Director.

In addition to his work in K–12 education, Mr. Hart has held key municipal roles, including Manager of Revenue and Treasurer for the City and County of Denver. He also worked in public finance as a Director at The PFM Group and as Senior Vice President at D.A. Davidson & Co.

Mr. Hart holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Dr. Daisy Esqueda is a dedicated K-12 Educational Administrator with over ten years of progressive experience in public education administration. She has a passion for promoting student equity and academic achievement, and she strives to prioritize the needs of children, social and economic justice, and community empowerment.

Dr. Esqueda's professional journey has showcased her exceptional skills in project management, program and policy development, and public education. As the Chief of Staff at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, she serves as the right hand and trusted advisor to the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. In this role, she oversees strategic planning activities, projects, and goals, manages the development and implementation of new initiatives, and liaises with various stakeholders to coordinate activities and programs.

In addition to earning a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership at the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Esqueda also holds a Master of Science in Social Work, Policy Practice from Columbia University School of Social Work, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Mount St. Mary’s College. She also studied abroad at Universidad de Granada in 2008.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Dr. Esqueda actively contributes to her community as the Board Chair of the Southeast-Rio Vista YMCA, a former Board Member of Community in Schools, Los Angeles, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Los Angeles.

Vibiana M. Andrade previously served as a Los Angeles deputy city attorney. Prior to that, she was with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, serving as the attorney in charge of legal programs, public policy and community outreach. She also has worked as a lawyer for California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. and the National Labor Relations Board. Ms. Andrade holds a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

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As the Chief of School Support and Transformation, Mario Marcos is responsible for leading systems-level support for Court and Community Schools, ensuring students facing the greatest barriers have access to rigorous instruction, supportive relationships and meaningful pathways to college, career and life.

Mr. Marcos is a collaborative instructional leader with more than 26 years of experience advancing school improvement and expanding opportunity for historically underserved students. He has served at every level of the system as a teacher, school administrator and district executive. Prior to joining LACOE, he served in multiple executive roles in Compton Unified School District, including Director of English Learners, Director of Elementary and Secondary Education and Chief Academic Officer, all focused on strengthening instruction and outcomes districtwide.

As Chief Academic Officer, Mr. Marcos led the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) development to ensure equitable outcomes for all students. During his tenure in Educational Services, the district achieved significant and sustained academic growth, including three consecutive years of gains—most recently an 8% increase in English Language Arts and a 6.4% increase in Mathematics. In addition, the secondary schools under his supervision and teams he led have continued to excel. Secondary schools saw improvements in graduation rates and college and career readiness, and all schools earned six-year WASC accreditation. In addition, four middle schools were named 2024 California Distinguished Schools, and one earned 2025 National Blue Ribbon recognition.

Mr. Marcos’ success includes leading a dramatic turnaround as principal of Jefferson Elementary School, which earned the prestigious 2014 National Blue Ribbon School and California Distinguished School honors. This proven commitment to service also earned him the 2014 Terrell H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership and the 2015 ACSA Valuing Diversity Award.

A native of Spain, Mario is bilingual in English and Spanish and holds a Master’s in Education from California State University, Dominguez Hills, as well as administrative credentials and multiple specialist certifications. His leadership is grounded in humility, service and a steadfast belief that collective effort changes lives.

Mr. José González has more than 18 years of K-12 education experience. While working for LAUSD as the Senior Director of Information Technology, he managed more than $300 million in project and operational funds. He built a reputation as a growth-focused professional with an ability to lead organizations to success. He led the efforts to consolidate an Enterprise Help Desk that will merge customer support for district departments that play a critical role in integrating policies to maximize cross-functional efficiency, stimulate team cohesion and remove silos. His leadership role with the Customer Experience team has resulted in increased student, parent, and employee satisfaction ratings from 70 to 90 percent. Mr. González has held senior leadership positions at multiple organizations in software development, engineering, device management, and infrastructure.

Mr. González attended Cerritos Community College and transferred to CSU Los Angeles to earn his undergraduate degree. He is currently earning his Executive Master’s in leadership at the University of Southern California. He has served as Mayor of Cudahy since 2018.

Alicia Garoupa (pronouns: she/her) is proud to serve as the new Chief of Wellbeing and Support Services for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of social work and educational leadership experience. Her achievements include the development and implementation of numerous effective child welfare and attendance and specialized support service programs. She brings passion, commitment, and capacity to enhance organizational structures and accountabilities, establish and strengthen strategic partnerships, and align resources to foster wellbeing and improve outcomes. Her approach emphasizes effective, datainformed Universal Prevention strategies, grounded in a Multi-Tiered System of Support framework. She is committed to serving and supporting our children, youth, families, school communities, and school districts throughout Los Angeles County toward an educational model that is grounded in nurturing and affirming the whole child, embracing families as true, equal partners, realizing the promise of educational equity, and achieving social and racial justice.

She began her career as a Children’s Social Worker with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Her service in public schools began as a Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Prior to joining LACOE, she served as the Administrator for LAUSD’s Division of Student Health and Human Services.  She earned her Master of Social Welfare degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. 

As Executive Director for the Personnel Commission, Eric Rowen brings a wealth of experience as a Human Resources professional to education.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Rowen moved to California in grade school and graduated from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.  He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Rowen joined LAUSD in 2013 as an HR Specialist and has performed numerous roles since joining LACOE in 2014— HR Analyst, Senior HR Analyst and a brief assignment at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District as Director of Classified Personnel. He has extensive experience in classified human resources for TK-12 district merit systems in areas including recruitment, pre-employment assessments, classification, organizational design, staff development, and employer branding.

In his role as Executive Director of Classified Human Resources, Rowen was instrumental in the LACOE’s transition to virtual hiring procedures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Those processes are now handled entirely online and as a result of the streamlined effort, the unit reviewed over 7200 applications and filled 258 permanent Classified vacancies in 2021. 

Pam Gibbs is the Executive Director of Governmental Relations for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). Since 2005, Ms. Gibbs successfully led advocacy efforts to improve funding and programs for the state’s incarcerated youth and has worked with the state’s education leaders to improve education opportunities for all of California’s children.

Before joining LACOE, Ms. Gibbs worked for the Office of Legislative Counsel, where she drafted education legislation and wrote legal opinions on education-related issues. She served in Governor Gray Davis’ Administration where she worked on elections and labor legislation and numerous special projects, including serving as coordinator of the 2000 Electoral College proceedings in the Governor’s Office. Prior to her tenure in the Governor’s Office, Ms. Gibbs worked in the California State Senate and Assembly serving as committee and personal staff to northern and southern California legislators.

Ms. Gibbs earned her undergraduate degree from the University of the Pacific in Communication, with an emphasis in rhetoric and public address. She earned her law degree from Lincoln Law School of Sacramento. Ms. Gibbs is the President of the University of the Pacific Alumni Board of Directors. She also mentors students and enjoys judging and volunteering to support the local high school and college speech and debate team tournaments.

Elizabeth Graswich is a communications leader with over two decades of expertise in public education, communications, public policy and media. Her work includes leadership and support for numerous initiatives, such as the COVID-19 response, diversity, equity and inclusion, digital literacy, multimedia storytelling, artificial intelligence and strategic partnerships. She served as a board member on multiple education foundations for more than 20 years, including her present role on the board of A Thousand Joys.

Prior cabinet-level leadership roles include Communications Director for the San Ramon Valley and Elk Grove unified school districts in Northern California. She honed her storytelling skills as a reporter for The Sacramento Bee, where she focused on education and public safety. An alumnus of the University of Southern California, Graswich earned both her doctoral degree in Organizational Change and Leadership and her master's degree in Communication Management from USC.