Alison Yoshimoto-Towery
Alison Yoshimoto-Towery is Chief Academic Officer of Los Angeles Unified for more than 550,000 students in the nation’s second largest, diverse school district. She oversees birth to adult education, including specialized programs for English learners, Standard English learners, Gifted learners, academic counseling, guiding post-secondary success, advanced placement programs, linked learning and career technical education. Most important to Alison is leading from an equity lens and rethinking how “business as usual” is done to meet the needs of those students and communities historically underserved by public education.
Alison has served Los Angeles Unified for more than 28 years as a teacher, principal, director and top administrator, and represents the Los Angeles Unified on a number of local, state and national collective action groups. She champions multi-tiered systems of support for the whole child and doing “whatever it takes” so students are ready to thrive in college, career and life. As a mom and educational leader, Alison is a fierce advocate of high expectations for all students and believes schools should be places where all students feel safe, loved, and academically inspired.