Laura Hernandez-Flores, Chief of Staff

Laura Hernandez-Flores is Chief of Staff at LA's Promise. In this role, among other duties, Laura works with LA's Promise executives and board members, school leaders, and LAUSD to ensure the best communication, highest degree of collaboration, and a positive, productive working environment.

Laura joined LA's Promise in December 2008. She was hired as Associate Director at Manual Arts High School and then became Site Director. Prior to joining LA's Promise, Laura worked as a secondary teacher for ten years in both urban public and private schools. She began her teaching experience as a co-founder of Green Dot's first charter school, Animo Leadership. Laura has also worked as a Faculty Advisor supporting new teachers in the Teacher Education Program at Claremont Graduate School.

Laura earned her B.A. in English and Political Science from UCLA. She attended Stanford, Loyola Marymount, and USC for graduate school earning her M.A. in Secondary Education and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. She graduated with top honors in all of her degrees.

Laura's favorite books include Rain of Gold, The Alchemist, and Pedagogy of Hope and she enjoys yoga, travel, and hiking.

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” – Paulo Freire