Leadership

Pablo

PABLO CESAR VILLAVICENCIO - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Pablo Cesar Villavicencio serves as CEO of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit public charter school network in Los Angeles that serves 12,500 across 26 high-performing charter public schools and has nearly 18,000 alumni.

Pablo is a first-generation college graduate and is a proud Los Angeles native. His deep experience in teaching and leading schools and school systems that serve underserved and marginalized children and families is grounded in his first-hand belief that all children, regardless of zip code deserve a high-quality education.
Most recently, Pablo served as Alliance’s President, where he oversaw the critical functions of school management, teaching & learning, and the work with diverse learners, school leadership development, counseling & college success, and Alliance’s focus on scholars, families and communities.

Pablo joined Alliance in 2017 as Chief Schools Officer. He has been responsible for setting the vision for coaching and development of Alliance’s school leaders. Pablo was integral in launching Alliance’s first Scholars, Families, and Communities team, which has focused on ensuring that Alliance schools address the whole child through social-emotional learning practices, and connections with families and the community. Pablo was integral in developing the School Instructional Support team, which was a school support model designed to improve teaching and learning. Most recently, Pablo oversaw Alliance’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the pivot to distance learning, and enacting comprehensive health and safety protocols, in addition to Alliance’s return to in-person learning in August 2021.

Like many children of immigrants, Pablo was underserved in low-performing urban schools in East Los Angeles. Pablo was the first in his family to graduate from college -- the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to returning to Los Angeles, Pablo served as a Deputy Chief for the Oakland Unified School District where he focused on innovation for low-performing schools. He was also the Director of Principal Leadership and Support for High Schools in San Francisco Unified School District supervising principals. Before he dedicated time in Northern California, he served families in the Bronx, New York as a teacher and Academic Dean before becoming the Founding Principal of a New York City public school. Pablo holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy of Industrialized Societies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Education in Dual Language/Bilingual General Education from the Bank Street College of Education. He is a Teach for America, New Leaders, New York City Leadership Academy, and Cambiar Catalyst Fellowship Alum.

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ZAINAB ALI - CHIEF OF STAFF

Zainab Ali is Alliance's Chief of Staff, responsible for working across the organization to execute the highest-priority initiatives, facilitating Alliance's shared strategic direction throughout our school network, and leading marketing and communications.

Prior to joining Alliance, Zainab served as the Chief of Staff at the Camden City School District in Southern New Jersey. In Camden, Zainab managed the transformation of the District's organizational structure, worked to address multi-million-dollar revenue shortfalls each year, and successfully reached agreements on expired labor contracts. In prior experiences, Zainab also served as special assistant to Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott at the New York City Department of Education (DOE). During her tenure at the DOE, she was responsible for the communication, strategy, and management of key initiatives and worked on department-wide priorities including the transition to the Common Core Standards, a citywide busing strike, and coordination and preparedness during and post-Hurricane Sandy.

Zainab earned her MPA with a specialization in management from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Public Affairs from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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RYAN BENNETT - CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER

Ryan D. Bennett is the Chief People Officer and oversees the staffing, human resources operations, performance management, and DEI, employee engagement & relations teams at Alliance.

Prior to this role, Ryan served as an Instructional Superintendent of Schools as well as the Director of Grow, Leadership Development at Alliance. Ryan is a first-generation college graduate of New York University and has focused his professional life on expanding opportunities for students. Ryan began his career as a high school math teacher in Reserve, LA in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and joined Alliance in 2018 after moving to Los Angeles with his partner, who is an Angeleno.

Prior to moving to L.A., Ryan worked at FirstLines Schools in New Orleans where he led network-wide teacher development work and served as School Director of Arthur Ashe Charter School. Other work has included the launch and expansion of youth development work in New York and Kansas--including starting the New York City Youth Congress, an opportunity for youth to engage with civic leaders and influence city and state-wide policy decisions. Ryan loves hiking, time at the beach, and traveling with his close friends and partner. A little-known fact about Ryan -- in 5th grade, his bowling team, The Pinheads, was 8th in the nation!

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ROBERT ESCALANTE - GENERAL COUNSEL

Association

As General Counsel, Robert Escalante oversees the legal team.

Prior to his current role, Robert worked as an attorney in the Labor & Employment Law Department of Proskauer Rose LLP. There, Robert represented and advised clients from a variety of industries in class and collective actions, labor, and employment litigation, as well as conducted investigations and provided pro bono services to clients in probate, immigration, administrative, and federal court proceedings. Prior to working with Proskauer, Robert volunteered as an attorney with the Eviction Defense Unit of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Robert holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California.

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RODOLFO ELIZONDO - CHIEF INSTRUCTIONAL OFFICER

Rodolfo Elizondo is the Chief Instructional Officer and oversees the integration of school management, teaching & learning, and the work with diverse learners. A proud native of South and South East Los Angeles and first-generation college graduate, he previously served as one of the Instructional Superintendents for Alliance.

Prior to his role as an Instructional Superintendent, he was the founder and Principal of the Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management (UASEM), an innovative new Career and Technical Education high school located in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Rodolfo applied his skills from working as an instructional lead and data coach to build teachers’ capacity to develop rigorous curriculum to meet the needs of their students in addition to developing an innovative new program that secured internships for all seniors and juniors.

Rudy began his high school and middle school teaching career in New York’s South Bronx at The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice through the fellowship organization Math for America, where he engaged in 5 years of structured professional development and professional learning teams with hundreds of teachers in schools all across New York City.

Rodolfo holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of California Berkeley, a Masters of Art in Teaching from Bard College, and a School Building Leadership License from Baruch College.

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DAVID LAUCK - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

David Lauck is Alliance's Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for accounting, finance, payroll and procurement.

Prior to returning to Los Angeles in 2016, David served as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director for Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, a network of public charter schools in Rhode Island. There he oversaw the financial planning, budgeting, reporting and analysis functions for the organization, as well as provided support for several school leaders. Previously, David participated in The Broad Residency in Urban Education (Class of 2009-2011), serving his two-year Residency as the Director of Finance and Accounting at KIPP LA Schools – a network of public charter schools serving students in East and South Los Angeles.

Prior to joining The Broad Residency, David filled a variety of transactional and analytical roles during more than ten years in the investment banking and asset management industries. David holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

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TIFFANY WILSON - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Tiffany D. Wilson is the Chief Operating Officer and oversees data & systems, information technology, business operations, facilities, school operations, governance, compliance & enrollment.

Tiffany was a 2002 Washington, D.C. Teach For America alumna who, after teaching for three years, spent 6 years practicing law in the nation’s capital. Tiffany is a first-generation college graduate who’s passion for education inspired her to return to the field as an Assistant Principal of Operations for a public charter school in Southeast Washington, D.C. for three years. In her role, she created, implemented, and refined sustainable school operations systems with a focus on facilities, whole school events, supply chain management, student and staff attendance, human resource functions, procurement and vendor relationships, state reporting, finance, and data management. By the beginning of her final year, the school earned, for the first time, the top Tier 1 rating on the D.C. School Quality Report.

Prior to assuming her current role, Tiffany served at Alliance as the Vice President of School Operations overseeing enrollment, compliance, governance, advocacy, and in-the-field operations supports.

Tiffany holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School. She is currently barred to practice law in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.