RAPSA is thrilled to welcome Dr. Jorge Ruiz de Velasco to our Education and Leadership Advisory Table, bringing with him decades of groundbreaking research and leadership that have shaped the future of education policy for our nation’s most vulnerable and resilient youth.
As Deputy Director at Stanford University’s John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Dr. Ruiz de Velasco’s work has transformed the way we understand equity, school improvement, and systems change. His research has illuminated the complex realities faced by At-Promise and Opportunity Youth, offering data-driven pathways for reform that honor both their challenges and their potential.
Before joining Stanford, Dr. Ruiz de Velasco served as Director of the Justice Earl Warren Institute’s Program on Education Law and Policy at UC Berkeley School of Law and held senior roles at major philanthropic institutions including The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. His deep experience at the intersection of law, research, and education policy has positioned him as one of the nation’s foremost voices on how systems can better serve youth who have been left at the margins.
His scholarship, particularly on alternative education, accountability systems, and the experience of newcomer youth, has informed how state and local leaders define success for schools serving students outside traditional models. Through his work with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), Dr. Ruiz de Velasco has proposed new frameworks that measure progress through authentic indicators like GED completion, community college enrollment, and sustained attendance, all with the aim of creating fairer systems that recognize growth over deficit.
As Dr. Ruiz de Velasco has stated back in 2017, “An equity agenda is focused on ensuring that all youth have the opportunity to reach their full potential academically, socially, and emotionally, to contribute to society, and to have [a] voice in decisions that affect them.” His vision reminds us that true transformation begins when systems listen to the communities they serve. His belief that fairness, opportunity, and voice must all coexist reflects RAPSA’s own commitment to creating spaces where young people are both learners and leaders. This is the very spirit that guides the RAPSA Education and Leadership Advisory Table, a national think tank where research, practice, and lived experience come together to co-create a future where every young person can succeed.
Catch Dr. Jorge Ruiz de Velasco at the 2025 RAPSA Forum, November 3–5, where he’ll present Raising the Accountability Bar for Alternative Schools and At-Promise Youth in California. His session explores new research and case studies shaping the future of state policy and accountability for schools serving At-Promise youth.
