Carlos Ayala

A longtime educator, administrator, and former dean of Sonoma State University’s College of Education, Carlos Ayala is the president and chief executive officer of Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), an education collaborative focused on improving the economic outlook of the Inland Empire by raising the region’s educational attainment rates. He began his academic work as a chemist, science and math teacher, small business owner, and school principal in Calexico, Cal. At Stanford University, he was a quantitative educational researcher specializing in formative assessment tools for continuous learning and improvement. As dean at Sonoma State University, he worked across the university to support Sonoma’s first successful Hispanic-Serving Institution grant, the campus Maker Space and Maker Faculty Learning Community, and campus-wide social justice initiatives. In the Sonoma community, he worked alongside numerous K-12 superintendents, community college leadership, and community programs to support all students in their college and career goals. Ayala has bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and environmental studies from the University of California Santa Cruz, a master’s in educational leadership from San Diego State University, and a doctorate in education from Stanford University.