Alexza Barajas Clark, Ph.D. is Executive Director of EdTrust-Tennessee, where she drives policy change to ensure every student — especially students of color and those from low-income backgrounds — has what they need to succeed. In one of the nation’s most politically complex states, she has led the organization to secure major policy wins, from protecting public school funding to shaping accountability systems that put student needs first.
A skilled coalition-builder, Alexza has convened multi-sector networks in Tennessee and across the South, translating shared principles into coordinated action. Recognized nationally for her leadership in education, she is a Pahara Fellow and a trusted partner to advocates, policymakers, and other leaders committed to driving systemic change.
Her career spans public policy, advocacy, and journalism, grounded in the belief that the stories we choose to tell and those we choose to hear determine the future we build. From producing news for CNN and NBC to shaping education policy in Tennessee and across the South, she has used narrative as a tool to make the unseen visible and ensure decision-makers confront the realities that data and stories reveal. A proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, she holds a Ph.D. in Communication Studies.
What is your proudest moment?
It would have to be seeing my mom retire from her food service work at an elementary school cafeteria after 27 years, then watching her return to school to earn her high school diploma.
What are people most surprised to learn about you?
I walked on to my college debate team and became a successful collegiate debater. I attribute a lot of my success in college and motivation to pursue advanced degrees to the skills and confidence I learned while debating.
Why are you passionate about working at EdTrust?
I am proud to advocate on behalf of the very communities I come from. I know it was not luck or happenstance that afforded me, a Mexican girl from one of the poorest areas of South Los Angeles, the opportunity to earn a doctoral degree. Instead, it was a series of strategic interventions at critical inflection points in my academic journey. It is a privilege to wake up and dedicate every day to make that a possibility for every child in Tennessee.
