Vannia De La Cuba, who has served as Deputy to Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo since he was a new Councilmember in 2003, and Isaiah Raya, a CAP alumnus now working as an Azure software engineer at Microsoft, will help guide the organization’s strategic shift toward Pasadena’s most vulnerable college-bound populations.
“As longtime community members, both Vannia and Isaiah add experience and perspectives that will have a meaningful impact as we continue our essential college readiness work and add additional resources and focus to our fire impacted and immigrant communities,” says CAP Board Chair Dominick Correy.
De La Cuba, a Pasadena Unified School District graduate who earned her communications degree from USC, brings two decades of civic engagement experience. She crafted Pasadena’s first Early Child Development Policy and established the City’s Office of the Young Child, positioning her to understand the educational pipeline challenges facing local families.
Raya represents CAP’s success stories – and its future vision. The Pasadena High School and UC Irvine graduate, who earned his computer science degree in 2023, mentored undergraduate students as a peer academic advisor before joining Microsoft. He continues educational outreach through TEALS (Technology Education and Learning Support), Microsoft’s program building sustainable computer science programs in high schools.
The appointments come as CAP, founded in 2006, navigates increased demand for its free college readiness programs. The nonprofit partners with area school districts and local agencies to provide advisement and courses for underserved and underrepresented middle and high school students, their families, and college-enrolled graduates.
For more information visit www.collegeaccessplan.org.
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