Villanueva Beard brings more than 20 years of education experience and a passion for educational equity and excellence
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GoGuardian, the leading education technology company providing simple, proven solutions to create effective, engaging, and safer learning environments, today announced Elisa Villanueva Beard joined its board of directors. Villanueva Beard’s more than 20 years of experience in education, including seven years as the CEO of Teach For America, combined with her career-long devotion to educational equity and excellence, helps deepen the student-centered mindset of the GoGuardian board of directors.
“Elisa has an overflowing passion for creating equitable educational experiences, which makes her an invaluable asset as we work towards our vision of creating a future where all learners are ready and inspired to solve the world’s great challenges,” said Advait Shinde, co-founder and CEO, GoGuardian. “Her experience in deploying and training thousands of teachers every year will also offer a unique vantage point when it comes to driving teaching efficacy, even with limited time or resources. We are thrilled to have Elisa join our board.”
Villanueva Beard has been with Teach For America her entire career, beginning in 1998 when she taught first and second grade bilingual education as a corps member. In 2001, she returned to her hometown to join the Teach For America staff as an executive director overseeing the organization’s work in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Following her success as executive director, Villanueva Beard was appointed to the role of chief operating officer, where she oversaw the organization’s expansion to more than 300 communities. She was named co-CEO in 2013 alongside Matthew Kramer, and has held the role of sole CEO since 2015. Under her leadership, Teach For America currently serves hundreds of thousands of students in nearly 2,000 schools.
“GoGuardian is doing important work by creating relevant, research-driven, student-centered solutions to ensure every child has access to an excellent and equitable education,” said Villanueva Beard. “Safer access to technology is one critical tool for providing students with the most impactful learning opportunities, putting them on a path to be and do what they want in life. I am excited to be joining the board of directors and I look forward to collaborating with the entire GoGuardian team to further support educators and students.”
In addition to GoGuardian, Villanueva Beard serves on the board of directors for The Holdsworth Center, a leadership institute based in Austin, Texas, that supports and develops public school leaders; City Fund, an organization that partners with local leaders to create innovative public schools systems; and Leadership for Educational Equity, a nonprofit leadership development organization working to end the injustice of educational inequity. Villanueva Beard is also a member of the board of advisors for AT&T’s Aspire Accelerator, a JOURNEY to Lead Champion, and a founding partner of Starts With Us. Her most recent accomplishments include being named one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas by ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals for America), selected by Latino Leaders Magazine for the “100 Latinas of 2022” list, and recognized by LinkedIn in their list of “Top Voices in Social Impact.”
Villanueva Beard will be GoGuardian’s seventh board member, which includes Advait Shinde, CEO; George Kadifa, Sanjeet Mitra, and Jack McCabe, Sumeru principals; Tony Miller, technology executive and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; and Julie Larson-Green, former Microsoft and Qualtrics executive now serving as CTO of augmented reality innovator Magic Leap.
About GoGuardian
GoGuardian provides simple, proven solutions to help create effective, engaging, and safer learning environments. Our award-winning system of learning tools is purpose-built for K-12 and trusted by school leaders to promote effective teaching and equitable engagement, while empowering educators to help keep students safe. Learn more at goguardian.com.
Contacts
Jeff Gordon
Director, PR and Communications
jgordon@goguardian.com
917-653-3803