Alejandra Gaytan received her Bachelor’s in English with a minor in Government in 2014 and a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. As a Longhorn, she served for The Governor’s Commission for Women in Austin and for Congressman Beto O’Rourke at the House of Representative in Washington, D.C. She was part of the Archer Fellowship and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), programs which helped her grow academically and professionally while living in Washington D.C. She worked as Program Coordinator at Con Mi MADRE, a college readiness nonprofit that provides socio-emotional and academic help to mother-daughter teams towards the goal of post-secondary degree attainment from the young girls. She was promoted to Program Director in 2017 and lead the efforts to start a chapter in El Paso, Texas. Con Mi MADRE worked collaboratively with the El Paso Independent School District, where Alejandra supervised a team to service over 200 El Pasoan mother-daughter teams. She has transitioned to Capacity Development Provider at Project Vida where she collaborates with El Paso School districts and provides support to develop inclusive measures at the schools based on the needs of their communities. Alejandra is part of the BOOST Steering committee in El Paso, Texas.
As a Gates Millennium Scholar and as a strong advocate for education reform, Alejandra is looking forward to furthering her education as a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University. She is committed to growing professionally and learning how to address the gaps of students who have experienced trauma and how that impacts their educational development. Alejandra is driven to give back to the community that helped her grow and in her free time she likes to spend quality time with her loved ones. Selected to participate in the 2021 Socrates Summer Seminar, The She-Cession- Unpacking the Factors that Shape Women in the U.S. Economy.