Lupita Cortez Alcalá is Director of Education Policy and Outcomes within the Strategic Resource Allocation and Systems Planning team. She has over 25 years of experience in advocacy, policy, project development, and executive and administrative leadership, championing better educational outcomes for the children, youth, and adults of California, and over a decade of experience in government affairs for pre-K-12 and higher education. Lupita leads work on alignment of state and local system structures, policies, processes, and resources in mental health, early education, pre-K-12, college affordability, and workforce.
Alcalá co-led the development and co-authored Supporting California’s Children Through a Whole Child Approach: A Field Guide for Creating Integrated, School-Based Systems of Care and served as author and senior advisor on the California School-Based Mental Health Report identifying local education agency policy barriers to student mental health referrals. She also co-led the development and co-authored the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care.
Alcalá served as the first Latina Chief Deputy Superintendent for the California Department of Education. She has also been Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission, becoming a prominent voice in the statewide discussion on college affordability and financial aid reform. Alcalá also served as member and chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
Alcalá holds a BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego, and an MEd from Harvard Graduate School of Education.