Nadia Leal-Carrillo

Nadia Leal-Carrillo is the Director of Policy Development of the Success Center for California Community Colleges, housed within the Foundation. Founded in 2014, the Success Center assists the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) implementation of large-scale, systemwide student success reforms through policy development, professional development, and special projects. Leal-Carrillo leads the Success Center’s policy shop work in identifying statutory and regulatory barriers to student success and providing policy development and research support for the CCCCO on policies aligned with the Vision for Success: Strengthening the California Community Colleges to Meet California’s Needs goals, student success reforms, and the Guided Pathways framework.

As a first-generation immigrant college graduate, Leal-Carrillo has dedicated her career to advancing policies to improve student access to education. She previously served as Legislative Director of Academic Affairs in the State Governmental Relations Office for the University of California, Office of the President; Legislative Director to Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee; Legislative Aide to Senator Gilbert Cedillo, Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus; and as a California Senate Fellow. Leal-Carrillo was selected as a 2018-2019 California Education Policy Fellow and appointed to the 2018-2020 School Site Council. Leal-Carrillo is a member of the Sacramento Latina Leaders Network and the California Capital Fellows Alumni Association. She previously served as an appointed member of the City of Sacramento’s Citizens Advisory Committee for Redistricting and was the former co-chair of the California Latino Capitol Association.

Leal-Carrillo earned her bachelor of arts in urban studies and planning from the University of California, San Diego, where she was a McNair Scholar, and her master of public administration from the University of Southern California, where she was a Sterling Franklin Graduate Fellow.