Steven Almazán

About Steven Almazán

I am proud and honored to serve as the Director of Policy and Partnerships at EdVoice, an education advocacy organization focused on reshaping public education in California. In this role, I led a successful advocacy campaign that protected more than $100 million for the Golden State Teacher Grant program in the 2024–25 state budget and secured an additional $60 million in the 2025–26 budget through targeted outreach to California legislative leaders. Prior to my current role, I served as the K12 Education Senior Program Manager at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. In this role, I collaborated with over 200 national civil rights organizations to develop federal policy proposals and policy remedies to achieve educational equity and advance civil and human rights for students in K12 education.As a dedicated volunteer, I proudly serve as a Leadership Council Member for the Latino Community Foundation’s Los Angeles Latino Giving Circle, the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the nation. Together, we are committed to investing in Latino-led organizations across California, driving transformational, generational change in our communities. In my role, I co-lead the vision and strategy behind our grant-making efforts, empowering over 100 grassroots philanthropists to shape funding priorities, assess proposals, and distribute resources to high-impact, Latino-led nonprofits. Since 2018, I’ve helped steer over in grassroots donations to more than 25 organizations throughout Southern California, fueling meaningful change where it’s needed most.As the son of Mexican immigrant parents from Boyle Heights and a product of the Los Angeles education system, my primary focus is to advance racial equity and protect civil rights by designing and implementing policy remedies and campaigns for children in early care and education and students in K12 education. Throughout the course of my career, I have led coalitions at the local, state, and national levels to champion education policies that improve opportunities and outcomes for children, especially children from marginalized communities.

Experience

1. Director of Policy and Partnerships

   Edvoice

   Nov 2023 — Present · CA, US

   Cultivating strategic partnerships with education stakeholders—including state agencies, county and district leaders, advocacy groups, and community-based organizations—to position EdVoice as a trusted authority on California education policy.• Led the development and execution of a strategic advocacy plan to secure more than $60 million in additional funding for the Golden State Teacher Grant (GSTG) program in the 2025–26 state budget. This work included coordinating a coalition of more than 40 organizations to deliver targeted advocacy letters to key legislative leaders and contributed to a broader $464 million statewide investment in California’s teacher workforce.• Convened and led a diverse coalition of 22 organizations to co-author and publicly launch Every Classroom, Every Child: Lasting Solutions for California’s Teacher Shortage, a widely endorsed policy brief presenting evidence-based solutions to California’s teacher shortage.• Designed and implemented a targeted advocacy strategy that successfully safeguarded over $100 million in state funding for the Golden State Teacher Grant program during the 2024–25 budget cycle, securing broad legislative support through coordinated outreach.• Led the drafting and stakeholder coordination of more than 15 advocacy letters to the California State Board of Education, Legislature, and Governor, advancing policy priorities such as mandatory Kindergarten and sustained investments in educator workforce programs.

Education

• Loyola Marymount University

  Master of Education (M.Ed.)

• University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy

  Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.)

• University of Southern California

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Skills

• Education Policy
• Community Outreach
• Leadership
• Public Speaking
• Research
• Fundraising
• Nonprofits
• Leadership Development
• Higher Education
• Event Planning
• Social Media
• Event Management
• Social Networking
• Program Management
• Special Education
• Program Development
• Public Policy
• Elementary Education
• Data Analysis
• Entrepreneurship
• Policy Analysis
• Google Docs
• Differentiated Instruction
• Staff Development
• Gmail
• Tableau
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research