Sara Garcia is the Director of Education and Workforce Development at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Through legislative advocacy, programmatic efforts, and partnership with local education agencies, the team strives to ensure that our future workforce is reflective of the diversity and talent present in Silicon Valley. Sara leads our K-12 policy and programmatic efforts on the team’s cradle to career model.

Sara is a proud San Jose native, and the daughter of Mexican immigrants who arrived in the Valley of Heart’s Delight nearly 50 years ago. She has been an education advocate for nearly her entire life, advocating for quality education, bilingual education, and school choice while attending Schallenberger Elementary, River Glen School, and Downtown College Prep. She is a product of great public schools and is deeply committed to ensuring that all children - regardless of where they come from, have an opportunity and the tools needed to succeed. Her formation at Santa Clara University cemented the pillars that guide her work every day: Competence, Conscience, and Compassion.

Prior to joining the Leadership Group, Sara served as the Bay Area Program Manager for Political Engagement at the California Charter Schools Association Advocates. The role allowed her to hone her skills in the areas education advocacy, strategy partnership development. She was responsible for managing four political action committees across four Bay Area counties. Initially hired as an organizer, her work in community advocacy began on the grassroots level with families. As the sole organizer in the region, she was responsible for all events held locally. This included bilingual summits, visits to Sacramento to provide testimony, lobby days, and a local town hall with an assemblyman and vice mayor.

Sara has also had the honor to serve as a teacher and give back to the place that afforded her so many opportunities. As part of the first graduating class of the first charter school in San Jose, Sara has a unique perspective that allowed her to connect with her students at Downtown College Prep, where she taught Spanish language and literature.

One fun fact about Sara is that she once worked on a project called Google Maps nearly ten years ago! While on assignment at Google, she created outreach materials directed to government agencies and the private sector alike, serving as a liaison between the corporation and international partners. She secured partnerships that facilitated the image collection for the streetview special collects team. It was like being a virtual tourist before COVID made that a thing!