Jalisa Evans

Founder/CEO

Jalisa’s experiences in the classroom, both Charlotte North Carolina and Los Angeles as a middle school science teacher, deepened her passion for fighting injustice. During her first year teaching, she began to grow frustrated with the barriers she navigated to ensure her students had the resources to be successful not just at school but in life. Her organizing experience began as a regional strategy team member for ONE Charlotte, a community based organization where she organized to secure a $33.2 million capital needs bond on the 2017 ballot in North Carolina for schools. When Jalisa moved to Los Angeles in 2017, she continued her career as a 7th grade science teacher. Shortly realizing the academic outcomes for Black students in Los Angeles, and their parents' journey to ensure they were receiving a quality education, Jalisa transitioned out of the classroom to a full time community organizer. In 2019, Jalisa and a team of Black families and community members received a commitment from Local District South Superintendent in LAUSD establishing a Black Student Achievement plan. This social and academic plan felt like just a start for Black families and community members to begin addressing their experiences in schools but also to see an unapologetic focus on Black students and what it takes for them to achieve.

With more than 78,000 Black students without a Black educator in their school in the state of California , Jalisa founded The Black Educator Advocates Network. While listening to the burdens of Black educators, in both Los Angeles and across the state, Jalisa and a team of educators built this network to transform the environment practices and policies that affect the educational experience for Black educators and administrators.