Jora Atienza Washington

Community Schools Coach

jora@cslx.org she/her - siya/kanya

Jora has been blessed to have the opportunity to work for and with communities that reflect her background: immigrant, multilingual, multicultural, culturally-rich, while economically and educationally underserved. She started her career working in schools in the Bay Area coaching classroom teachers, running expanded learning programs in the early wild west days of school-based afterschool, and working in and helping build community schools in San Francisco and Oakland in senior leadership positions at a variety of cornerstone nonprofit agencies. Jora transitioned to the public sector in 2018, working in local Bay Area city governments overseeing grant funding for youth and their families, leading community school initiatives, youth workforce, leadership and civic development, and recreation programs, diversity/equity/inclusion programs, and serving as lead staff for cities in various system partnerships.

Jora is proud graduate of University of California, Los Angeles and University of San Francisco. She is passionate about giving back to her community through volunteerism, serving as mentor for local graduate students and being on her college’s alumni board. When she’s not working or tending to her plants, you can find her running the streets and hills of Oakland, freezing in an ice rink as a hockey mom, taking long walks in different neighborhoods, and cooking and eating with friends and family.