Ana F. Ponce, a candidate in LMU’s Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice program, was named one of the world’s seven most powerful educators in Forbes by Teach For America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp. “Ana represents the growing number of extraordinary school leaders working to provide a transformational education that puts children in low-income communities on a different life trajectory than their socioeconomic background would predict,” says Kopp. Click here to view the profile.
Ponce embodies the LMU Doctoral program’s mission to prepare transformative leaders and change agents to serve all youth. Of her experience at LMU, she remarked, “This has given me the tools to create a community of leaders and become a stronger advocate for the students I serve.”
Ponce is chief executive officer for Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, a network of five charter schools and an early childhood education center in the greater MacArthur Park area of L.A. Camino Nuevo Charter Academy serves more than 2,000 students, the majority of whom are English language learners. In an article in The Argonaut, Ponce says that she is dedicated to helping students overcome poverty, language barriers and a lack of resources so they can reach their full potential. At Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, 90% of students pursue higher education and 80% are admitted into four-year colleges.
Prior to Camino Nuevo, she was one of the founding teachers and administrators at The Accelerated School in South Los Angeles. In 2001, The Accelerated School was named elementary school of the year by Time magazine.
