Melissa Albarenga is the Community Engagement Manager at KIPP Bay Area Schools, where she provides families with the resources and tools they need to advocate for their children’s education and other important local initiatives. Through her work she hopes to activate power within each parent and/or guardian. Her ultimate dream is that all children will have access to high quality education no matter what zip code they live in. She was raised in East Los Angeles by her single mother and older siblings. She graduated from James A. Garfield High School and received her Bachelor’s degree in Chicana/o Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013.