Alejandra Vázquez Baur is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she manages the Bridges Collaborative, a member organization of school districts, charter networks, and housing organizations across the country that champion school integration. She is also co-founder and director of the National Newcomer Network (NNN), a coalition that brings together educators, researchers, and advocates who are invested in developing systemic solutions to address newcomer student inequity in K–12 schools.
Prior to joining TCF, Alejandra was a policy entrepreneur at Next100, a startup think tank powered by TCF created for and by the next generation of policy leaders. There, she co-founded the NNN and recruited a diverse membership of over 100 members spanning public school educators and administrators from fourteen states as well as researchers and advocates from twenty-five nonprofit organizations. She also presented at multiple conferences, met with over sixty elected officials, and researched and published policy recommendations to advance educational equity for newcomer immigrant youth. Her research has been featured by a range of media outlets, including Chalkbeat, the 74 Million, K–12 Dive, and POLITICO.
In 2023, Alejandra was selected for the inaugural Obama Leaders USA program, a six-month nonresidential leadership development program that seeks to inspire, empower, and connect emerging values-driven leaders across the country. Together, Leaders accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities with a focus on strengthening institutions across sectors toward a more inclusive, participatory democracy.
Throughout her career, Alejandra has worked at a number of nonprofits, including the New York Immigration Coalition, the Center for Public Research and Leadership, Engage Miami, and ImmSchools, though her career began in the classroom as a high school mathematics teacher in Miami–Dade County Public Schools. Alejandra’s passion for advocacy and educational equity is rooted in her own educational experience, her deep connection with her former students and colleagues in Miami, and her family’s legacy of fighting for justice alongside community.
Alejandra holds a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College and a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Read more from Alejandra at Next100.org.
