Alejandra Ceja’s
Passion and Pathway to Education
“ My passion is getting students
By Nilda Melissa Diaz ”
to be successful from cradle to career.
Pathways, cliffs, and leaps describe
Alejandra Ceja’s career journey. With
a resumé spanning two decades in
federal government under three different
administrations, one under former
President Barack Obama, the former
Executive Director of the White House
Initiative on Educational Excellence for
Hispanics, is currently the Executive
Director of the Panasonic Foundation.
Assuming this role in June of 2017, she is
responsible for leading the Foundation’s
investments in educational equity. A
role she finds exciting and rewarding.
“I am leading the investment portfolio for
this foundation,” shares Ceja. “I am helping
decide which community organizations
should be part of our framework to make
this work happen.”
The California native, with roots tracing
back to Michoacán, Mexico was the first in
her family to graduate from college and is a
recipient of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Institute (CHCI) Public Policy fellowship. The
fellowship opportunity allowed her to travel
to Washington D.C. and here is where a
major interest on education sparked.
Curiosity and passion led her to want to
learn more. She pursued opportunities and
as a Latina student she asked herself, ‘How
can I get a seat at the table?’
14 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 24, No. 3, 2018
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