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Our Team

Leading with lived experience, CPLAN leaders reflect the community they aim to serve. These parents of color are a product of the public school system and currently have children attending different sectors.

Our team brings diversity of thought, socio-economic status, culture and educational experiences to deliver a holistic perspective to the work. 

Ivelisse Caraballo

Executive Director

Ivelisse was a founding member of CPLAN and now serves as our Executive Director. She is extremely passionate about achieving racial equity in education and creating spaces to educate and empower families to take control of their child's educational experience. Her professional experience encompasses corporate, private, non-profit and academic sectors. Read more about Ivelisse's story and how she began her journey in educational advocacy!

Elsa Flores

Elsa Flores

Education Equity Advocate

Committed teacher with 11 years of teaching experience in El Salvador and nineteen years working with families and children in the Boston community, especially around supporting the immigrant population.

Samantha Mariano

Samantha Mariano

Assistant Project Manager

Passionate advocate for mental health and human rights. Fueled by the inequities she witnessed in the mental health care and education systems, she has been committed to pushing for more thoughtful and intentional solutions, with the input of the community that is affected.

Griselda Polanco

Griselda Polanco

Education Equity Advocate

Community activist who understand that the power of parents is not only in educating their children but also in educating themselves, only then can we fight for a better education for our children.

Dr. Gayl Crump Swaby

Dr. Gayl Crump Swaby

Director of Reshaping Mental Community Wellness

An author, speaker, publisher, mental wellness coach, and licensed mental health professional.

Santiago Rivera

Santiago Rivera

Education Equity Advocate

Bilingual community organizer with experience working in progressive local, state and national campaigns with a commitment to social, racial and economic justice and the power of grassroots community organizing to achieve it.

Community Ethics Committee

These members of our Community Ethics Committee have been instrumental in shaping CPLAN's mission and vision. As our organization grows, these powerful women continue to advise best practices.

Paula Kelley

Mental Health Advocate

Fabienne Eliacin

Special Education Advocate, Decoding Dyslexia Specialist

Karla Walker

Youth Engagement Specialist

Tayla Andre

Marketing Specialist, Real Estate, Financial Educator, Radio Personality

Daysa Santana

Youth Engagement Specialist

Julia Mejia

Founder; Boston City Councilor

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