Ben, a proud parent of two young daughters, has served as the Executive Director of the Parent Revolution since April 2008. He has dedicated much of his career to fighting for a California where every child can get a great public education. Prior to joining the Parents Union and launching the Parent Revolution campaign, he directed the successful campaign to transform Locke High School from the worst high school in Los Angeles into a college preparatory model of reform. Ben has also served as a Deputy Mayor under Mayor Richard Riordan from 2000-2001, where he helped craft the mayor’s education reform policy; as well as Senior Advisor to Rob Reiner and First 5 California from 2002-2006, where he helped create LAUP (Los Angeles Universal Preschool), a $600 million preschool program rooted in high standards, accountability and parental choice that serves 10,000 low-income children every year.
Ben has also worked on numerous Democratic presidential campaigns, served in the Clinton White House in a variety of roles, and was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Ben is a former member of the California State Board of Education. He is a native of Venice, California, and is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Georgetown Law School. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tracy, and their two daughters, Fiona and Eloise.
Gabe has been with Parent Revolution since April 2009, and has helped guide the organization through its rapid growth over the past two and a half years. His passion for transforming public education comes from his belief in social justice as well as his personal experience attending a failing elementary school while growing up in New Haven, Connecticut. His history of progressive activism includes founding a statewide student advocacy organization for same-sex marriage equality and serving as president of the Bruin Democrats organization during his time at UCLA, where he also served as student body president for the school’s 25,000 undergraduates his senior year. Before joining Parent Revolution, was he was selected for and completed the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs program in Los Angeles, a national experiential leadership-training program, during which he worked with organizations ranging from a Democratic State Senate campaign to Local 416 of the Reinforcing Ironworkers Union. He grew up in both New Haven and the Bay Area in California, but has lived in Los Angeles for the past seven years.
Jody Edwards was raised in North Carolina. Her mother Marie Buoniconti is a Registered Nurse. Her dad Joseph is a retired Master Sergeant. She is a graduate of University of North Carolina where she received her B.S. degree in Business Administration.
Jody is proud to be our Director of Finance & Operations. She has over 20 years of experience in accounting and management within a vast array of industries. Among the companies she has worked with, those whose purpose has been to benefit children have been her love. She has a great passion for children, is active in her community, and has a strong commitment to instilling community and family values. She is dedicated to helping bring all children the opportunity for success they deserve. Jody is a soccer coach, and has been a board member for both American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and the Vocal Music Association (VMA). Jody also heads up VMA’s arts program fund raising at John Muir Middle School in Burbank, CA where she lives. Jody is married to Robert Heap – combined they have seven children.
Christina’s experiences growing up in Peru and attending schools in underserved communities throughout Southern California ignited her passion for education and inspired her to create an educational nonprofit. A former Education Pioneers Fellow, she has worked in various public interest organizations ranging from Amnesty International to Neighborhood Legal Services, most recently serving as the head of State Government Affairs for an international cancer foundation. Christina is thrilled about helping Parent Revolution promote a "kids first" agenda!
Christina completed her BA with a triple major in Political Science, History and International Development Studies at UCLA, where she also received her law degree with a specialty in Public Interest Law & Policy and Critical Race Theory. She was subsequently awarded a Zuckerman Fellowship by Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership, earning her Master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Since graduating from Stanford University, Linda has been dedicated to progressive values and candidates. She was an organizer with Hillary Clinton's campaign for president in Iowa, California, Texas and Washington, and then served as State Director in Maine. Linda then became a Regional Field Director with President Obama's campaign in New Mexico, in addition to organizing diverse communities in multiple states. After the Obama campaign she moved to Washington, D.C. to work for a progressive new Member of Congress, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). While beginning in a support capacity for the Congressman, Linda’s responsibilities grew quickly, ultimately becoming his Natural Resources Committee staffer and official Press Secretary. While Linda enjoyed working on Capitol Hill, she missed her home in Los Angeles and decided to move back to work closely with local communities and manage communication work for Parent Revolution.
Prior to joining Parent Revolution in August 2011, Larry was Development Manager for the Center for Governmental Studies managing foundation relations and donor research. Before that he was a Development Officer with the Parents Television Council, focusing on annual major donor campaigns.
Larry has unique experience that complements our diverse team. He began a public affairs career as an aide to former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. He then served as a Coro Foundation Fellow and then worked as a public affairs consultant. Larry is a former legislative advocate, has worked on numerous campaigns and managed citizen engagement programs for numerous private and public sector clients. Larry’s also taught at L.A.’s Henry Clay Middle School and his family has devoted years of service building pathways to higher education for promising young students. He is former president of the El Pueblo Historical Monument Commission, served on the Los Angeles Urban League and Tree People boards, and co-chaired the Los Angeles 100 Black Men Political Action Committee. Larry received his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, did graduate studies in Public Policy at Claremont Graduate School, has two sons—Avery and Randall –and one daughter, Chase.
Alvaro was born and raised in North Hollywood, CA. He attended one of our California public schools so has first hand knowledge of the great need for public education reform. He attended West Valley Occupational Center at age 16 where he discovered his trade and defined his interest in Computer Engineering. While Studying Computer Engineering at the local Community College he decided to take his knowledge to the test and started his professional career helping children who had been abused. His dedication to helping the community, believe in children to build a better future, interest in politics, and knowledge in the computer industry, brought him to Parent Revolution. Alvaro is a self-taught, young, enthusiastic, social, computer guru.
Patrick DeTemple is a lifelong organizer with decades of community, political and labor organizing experience across the country. He began his career as an Alinsky style community organizer and then organized farm workers under Cesar Chavez for the UFW in California and hospital workers with Local 1199 and the Service Employees (SEIU) on the east coast. His background also includes a range of organizing methods from issue campaigns to his role as the National Field Director for the massive Earth Day 1990 events. He has worked for numerous Democratic political campaigns at all levels of government including almost two years with the Obama presidential campaign where he was one of the battleground state general election directors. He obtained his bachelors from Brown University, masters from the Kennedy School of Government, and a JD from Northeastern Law School and is a member of the California and Massachusetts bar. He has also served a variety of capacities in state and local government. His career has given him a deep belief in the power of organizing to bring about transformative change, and he brings that belief – along with his talent, dedication, and experience – to the Parent Revolution organizing team.
Christina has been with Parent Revolution since August 2010, where she combines her passions for community organizing and education reform to help parents fight for change at their low-performing schools. Christina began her career as an Assistant Director of Admissions for her alma mater Yale University. She recruited in the Southern California area and supported the multicultural recruitment work of the office. She then returned to her home city of Los Angeles through the Teach for America program and taught English as a Second Language and sixth grade Social Studies in East Los Angeles. Her teaching experience rekindled her interest in urban planning so she returned to school to pursue her Master in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. There she focused on local governmental and urban policy and participated in the City of Chicago’s Mayoral Fellows program the summer between her two years of graduate school. However, she found a class on community organizing to be the best fit for her strengths and interests. After taking the course she served as a teaching assistant for the same class and supervised the organizing projects of the students in her section. This further solidified her interest in organizing and her commitment to return to LA to support the city’s education reform efforts. She is thrilled to be back home, working with Southern California parents, and making history with Parent Revolution.
Shirley is an original member or our first small staff and has the distinction of being one of the Los Angeles Parents Union’s founders along with former staff member Mary Najera and current Parent Revolution board member Karen Robinson. Shirley is a dedicated, outspoken leader on behalf of education reform and parent’s rights, and her leadership on these important issues is recognized throughout California and nationwide. Shirley is a preeminent organizer, who played a central role in our campaign that lead to the successful passage of LAUSD’s Public School Choice Resolution. Her tireless efforts were also instrumental in the narrow passage of California’s Parent Trigger law – the first in the nation. Shirley serves in a variety of roles for Parent Revolution, including Senior Organizer and Director of African-American Affairs.
Her passion for parent’s rights and quality public education comes from her own experience raising her boys. Two of her sons, Robert and Hamid, were given the opportunity to attend Green Dot public schools and are now both are enrolled in college, the first in their family to do so. Shirley has seen firsthand that great public schools are possible and that all children can learn, and is passionate about empowering parents to obtain great schools for their children, especially children in under-served and historically marginalized communities. Shirley is not only the mother of three wonderful sons, but also a proud grandmother of two.
Yuritzy applies strong experience in education and advocacy as she organizes parents at Parent Revolution. She obtained her BA in Political Science and Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley where she worked at the Early Academic Outreach Program. There she helped plan and implement academic programs to prepare inner city high school students to pursue higher education. After graduating, she returned to Los Angeles where she first worked as a Community Organizer with the California Women’s Law Center, conducting bilingual Reproductive Health and Rights trainings for women in Latino communities across Los Angeles. She then worked for a civil rights law firm assisting on cases involving employment discrimination, international human rights law, wage and hour labor violations, and other public interest issues. Currently, Yuritzy is pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration, with an emphasis in Non Profit Management from Cal State University at Northridge.
Maria has been with Parent Revolution since March 2011. She is a long-standing parent activist and is currently Chairperson of Lynwood Save Our Schools (LSOS). Television news reports of the Parent Trigger campaign in nearby Compton, CA inspired Maria to start coming out and volunteering to help the parents of McKinley Elementary, and months later, she wound up joining the Parent Revolution organizing team to dedicate herself full-time to organizing parents throughout LA County to improve their schools. Maria wants all low performing schools to be transformed so that every student receives a high quality education.
She has been an active parent since being frustrated with Lynwood school district administrators who were unresponsive to needs of parents and children. She became an active member of the district’s Special Education, Budget, Boundary, Discipline and Safety and other committees. A result of this involvement, Maria was elected President of LSOS, serving from 2006 to 2008. Under her leadership, LSOS successfully held a Special Education Fair, which included over 20 community organizations and over 200 people in attendance.
As an advocate for parents and students, Maria has organized and empowered parents to become more involved in the education of their children. She is committed to helping parents develop their own leadership abilities and capacity. She has also assisted parents resolved numerous problems by serving as either a mediator or a representative.
Nancy joined Parent Revolution in March of 2011. Her interest in social change and social justice began when she studied about the United Farm Worker Movement at UC Santa Cruz. After graduation she made the decision to join the United Farm Workers, and it was there that she gained experience in grassroots organizing and saw the importance of collective action and the power of organized people. This led her to continue her work as a community organizer with L.A. Voice, a faith based organization where she worked with parishioners from various churches in Los Angeles. More recently, Nancy worked with parents from four schools in Los Angeles County, through the non-profit organization The Children’s Council. It was this experience that showed her the need for real parent involvement. It was also while working with parents at The Children’s Council that she realized there is a real crisis in education, which led her to Parent Revolution. As a product of a public school education she believes all children have the potential to reach their goals. Nancy is excited about working with and empowering parents to advocate for their children’s education.
Alfonso was born in Los Angeles and raised by newly arrived immigrants from Mexico. He is now a proud father of four and has been happily married to his high school sweetheart Lourdes for fifteen wonderful years. Many in his family have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of children attending public schools. Alfonso has four sisters who teach in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Alfonso is a proud veteran who served six years in the U.S. Army, and rose to be a Special Forces soldier wearing the distinctive Green Beret. After his great service to our nation, Alfonso attended college at California State University, Los Angeles where he received a B.A. in child development. Immediately after graduation, he began a career in public education that was marked with a distinction similar to that he achieved in the army. As a teacher at Normandie Avenue Elementary School, Alfonso obtained the dual honors of being named both Local District 7 Teacher the Year and LAUSD Teacher of the Year in 2008. In the same year, he was also among the finalists for the Los Angeles County Office of Education Teacher of the Year award. After distinguishing himself in the classroom, Alfonso become principal at Global Education Academy, a local charter school. Both the Los Angeles Times and La Opinion newspapers ranked Global Academy among the top 10 best schools in California. Alfonso describes the Parent Revolution family as "the only true education reform effort" in our entire country that genuinely and passionately seeks and promotes a "kids first agenda."
Maribel joined the Parent Revolution team because of her passion for education and the unequaled opportunity to help parents navigate and implement California’s groundbreaking Parent Trigger law.
Her commitment to transforming failing schools is rooted in the academic inequities and abysmal conditions she witnessed while attending Locke High School in Watts. The experience sparked her unyielding dedication to individual and community empowerment. Maribel has served as a college advisor for the UCLA Early Academic Outreach Program; a Teach for America Corps Member and a bilingual teacher in Bronx, New York. Most recently, she has been a fierce critic of our broken mental health system and an advocate for children and adults with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health Advocacy Services.
Maribel obtained her bachelors from UCLA, a Master’s in Education from Pace University, and her Juris Doctorate at the UCLA School of Law. In law school, she was a clinical intern at the Learning Rights Law Center and participated in the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. She enjoys cooking, hiking, and dressing her miniature pinscher Penny in pink furry sweaters.
As a product of public schools and a former public school teacher, Mary is passionate about education reform and is excited to be working with parents to improve our schools. She has a long history of advocating for social justice and opportunities for children of color in marginalized and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods worldwide.
Born in Los Angeles, Mary moved to the Bay Area, where she earned her B.A. from San Jose State University, double-majoring in African American studies and Sociology. She later earned her Master’s in Education and teaching credential from Mills College.
The International National Voluntary Service Training program selected Mary to be a Scholar Activist with where she worked on education and public policy issues on both the Navajo Nation and in Jamaica. Her international service continued in Tanzania where as a Research Assistant she examined the link between wellness and economic development. Returning to the U.S., Mary worked with Catholic Charities to help open small autonomous schools and demand higher quality education opportunities for children on the East Side of San Jose. She was also appointed to the Strategic Planning team and helped commission Catholic Charities' 5- year sustainability plan. Most recently, she dedicated herself to youth in East Palo Alto, CA teaching them to identify issues in their community and be agents of change.
