Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle is President and Founder of Orenda Education, a research, professional education and technical assistance organization. For more than 27 years, Dr. Avelar La Salle and the Orenda team have been thought partners for districts and schools aspiring to transform their systems and practices to raise student achievement. An equity warrior and an advocate for justice within the educational system, Dr. Avelar La Salle’s mission is to change the odds for the twenty million kids in US schools for whom the current systems of instruction and improvement are not working -- predominantly Latino, African American, and a host of students from under-resourced families.
She received her Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University, and during her career has held the roles of teacher, principal, district administrator, researcher, and university professor. She is the author of many articles on education equity and several books, Shattering Inequities: Real World Wisdom for School and District Leaders, and her latest work, Where Equity Lives: Eliminating Systemic Inequity Traps in Schools and Districts, both written in partnership with Dr. Ruth S. Johnson.