Tomara is an Afro-Latina from Central Valley, California who grew up in a life of poverty & violence. Despite facing these obstacles, Tomara found purpose and success in academics and athletics. Since 2014, she has worked as a Special Education Teacher when she joined Teach For America in San Jose, California. She works to help families and children envision and successfully lead a life beyond survival.

 

A former higher education advocate and college athlete, Tomara earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, and an Education Specialist credential and M.A. in Special Education from her Alma Maters CSU Stanislaus and Loyola Marymount University respectively. Tomara was able to work closely with parents as an Advocacy and Policy Fellow for a parent education organization based in San Francisco through Leadership for Education Equity in 2015. She continues this parent support as she works at Dartmouth Middle School, leading parents who have students with IEPs and are from non-English speaking households in parent empowerment classes to learn about and help eliminate barriers to success.

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Working with teachers, parents, and school administrators as an Equity Leader on campus, Tomara strives to ensure that students in high need have equal access to education. Tomara aims to improve student success through relevant curriculum, support teachers through self-paced professional development, and provide opportunities to learn how to build and implement equitable systems.