Annamarie Francois, Ed.D., is an esteemed teacher, teacher educator and organizational leader with 35+ years of teaching, leadership and administrative experience in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the charter school community, and UCLA’s Department of Education. Dr. Francois has led several education innovations, including co-founding the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, the first grassroots charter school in California; establishing three innovative, community-based urban teacher residency programs focused on STEM and computer science; and co-visioning the creation of UCLA Community School at RFK and then Mann UCLA Community School in South L.A. Dr. Francois has also served UCLA Center X in a variety of roles over her 23-year tenure. In 2021, she published a co-edited book titled “Preparing Social Justice Educators” that explores Center X’s work to transform public schooling to create a more just, equitable, and humane society.
Dr. Francois currently provides thought partnership and service to a range of agencies and organizations seeking to meet the needs of California’s increasingly diverse student body and educator workforce.