You are viewing an archived version! The information is outdated and may no longer be current.
Who We Are
The Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) is a national collective of approximately 30 intergenerational and youth organizing groups across the nation that work with local and federal policymakers to transform public education to a system that equally prepares all students – regardless of race or socioeconomic status – for college, meaningful employment, and full participation in democracy. We have approximately 1,000 high school-aged youth leaders of color in our membership.
What We Do
- Collaborate with parents, teachers and other stakeholders around a national reform agenda centered on education justice.
- Promote leadership among people who are directly impacted by the erosion of public education, especially young people.
- Build the capacity of our movement to sustain its work over the long haul through leadership development, trainings, and collaboration.
- Align our movement-building efforts with other struggles for humanity, equality, and justice.
Staff
JONATHAN STITH
Jonathan Stith is a founding member and the National Coordinator for the Alliance for Educational Justice, a national network of intergenerational and youth-led organizations working to end the school-to-prison pipeline. His is the former Director of Youth Organizing at Empower DC. He has 18 years of experience working with youth and community organizations to address social inequities. As the former Executive Director of the Youth Education Alliance (YEA), he was a critical leader in the School Modernization Campaign that won 3.2 billion dollars for school renovation and repair in the District. He was also a steering committee member of the Justice for DC Youth Coalition that successfully organized youth and their families to win critical juvenile justice reforms in the District.
Jonathan is an accomplished facilitator and trainer. He is a certified trainer of Advancing Youth Development for the Children Youth Investment Trust, the Prudential Youth Leadership Institute and the Center for Creative Leadership. He is the founder of Pump Ya Fist, a youth activist and organizer training institute that supports the development of youth-led social change efforts across the country .
Last and most importantly, he is a father of three children (15, 13 and 11) all of whom attend public schools in the District of Columbia.
LEIDY ROBLEDO
Raised by immigrant the West of Phoenix, Leidy engaged in her first organizing experience as an 8th grader when her district threatened to take away staff and programs in her school. Teachers and parents voices were very vocal during this battle. Leidy organized students to make sure they were heard as well. She mobilized her classmates to stage walkouts, make their presence felt at board meetings, and join a special meeting with the Superintendent.
However, it wasn’t until a few years later that her journey as an organizer really took off. In 2009, Leidy joined Padres & Jovenes Unídos as a youth member. There she developed her political awareness around oppression and the struggles youth of colors face. Within months she had gained the organizing skills to lead several different campaigns.
Eventually Leidy became a staff member at Padres. Serving as the youth delegate for Padres in the Alliance for Educational Justice, Leidy was a member of the first Youth Justice Corps generation. She also formed part of the first Strategy Team that developed structure, platform and campaign work for the Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ). Now Leidy works to develop AEJ’s leadership pipeline and strengthen its capacity as Youth Development Specialist.
