Executive Leadership

vanessa garza, Executive Director and founding principal • vgarza@galsla.org

Vanessa Garza, Founding Principal, expertly translates student potential into success of self and beyond. With her data-driven leadership, teachers elevate their classroom instruction to ensure student mastery with a holistic approach.  Ms. Garza's previous educational leadership roles include: Director of Teacher Development, at Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, where she served multiple LAUSD schools and as an Assistant Principal at Green Dot Public Schools and PUC Schools.  In these roles, she collaborated with Principals and teacher leaders to support and coach the effectiveness of their instructional practices as measured by the district's teaching standards and teacher evaluations.  Ms. Garza was born and raised in Los Angeles and proud of earning her Masters in Education from UCLA while serving as a middle school teacher in LAUSD.  Ms. Garza earned her bachelor degree from Tulane University and her administrative credential at the Charter School Leadership Academy at Loyola Marymount University.

Leadership Team

ERICA YOUNAN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL • EYOUNAN@GALSLA.ORG

Erica Younan, Assistant Principal, emphasizes the importance of educating the whole child and ensuring that students have skills necessary to be successful after graduation. Ms. Younan's previous educational leadership roles include serving as the Middle School Lead at iLEAD Pacoima and the ELA Department Head at GALS LA. In these roles, she collaborated with teacher leaders to support student achievement and growth, oversaw school activities and functions, created schoolwide systems to increase academic performance, and provided professional development for teachers and staff. Although Ms. Younan was born and raised in California, she left the state to attend college at the University of North Dakota upon receiving a full scholarship for athletics. Ms. Younan elected to continue her education at UND when she was selected for a highly competitive resident teacher program which allowed her to begin her teaching career while earning a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction. After finishing her first year teaching in North Dakota, Ms. Younan returned to her home state and has since spent her time working with students and families in the San Fernando Valley.

Carrie wagner, founder

Carrie Wagner, Founder and Executive Director, believes that learning can be joyful as well as academically rigorous.  She believes in a holistic approach to education where the student opens up to their own unique talents and skills, and gains confidence in who they are as a person.  Before leading the growth and development of GALS LA, Carrie was the COO of Bright Star Schools, which is a charter management organization that operates 9 schools in Los Angeles and the CFO/COO of Citizens of the Worlds Charter Schools, a national charter organization operating schools in Los Angeles and Kansas City.  Prior to this, Carrie spent 9 years at ExED, a leading nonprofit provider of charter school management services, where she served as President and COO.  Carrie earned a M.B.A. from The Anderson School at UCLA and a B.S. in Accountancy and Computer Applications from The University of Notre Dame.  Carrie also recently earned a M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica (USM).