Lissette Castillo, Director of Professional Learning was the Director of Amigos Community School in Cambridge, MA. Prior, she served as the Equity Coordinator for the Cambridge Educators Association.

During her nearly 14-year tenure as a high school Spanish teacher, as well as in her work as a consultant to non-profit organizations in the Boston area, including the influential “Sociedad Latina”, she distinguished herself as an adept curriculum developer. Ms. Castillo is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including selection to the National Afterschool Association’s Emerging Leaders of Color 2019-2020 cohort; nomination to be an EdTalk presenter in 2017; and winning the Technology Goes Home "Teacher of the Year" Award in 2009.

Ms. Castillo has a steadfast commitment to the liberation and self-determination of African and indigenous peoples. Accordingly, she is zealous about challenging and fighting racial inequalities in education in part through the development of culturally responsive curricula that are family- and youth-driven. She also believes in creative instruction that extends beyond the classroom’s walls and has devised experiential-learning projects that explore the Mississippi Delta, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.

Ms. Castillo holds two master’s degrees from Tufts University in Teaching and in Public Policy, respectively. She is currently a Doctoral candidate in the Urban Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston.