Kanitra Lopez joined Education Pioneers in Los Angeles in summer 2010 working with Youthbuild Charter School of California (YCSC) to build a policy/procedure handbook for staff and students in the YCSC community. The policy handbook she created included a parent/student handbook, a staff handbook and campus wide operation policies. Prior to joining Education Pioneers, Kanitra began her career in education as a high school ESL teacher in Houston, Texas through the Teach for America program. After her two-year commitment with Teach for America, she worked as an English teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District at one of the schools taken over by Mayor Villaraigosa and later at one of the highest ranking magnet schools in the district. After graduating from Southwestern Law School, she hopes to use her experience in the classroom and legal knowledge in the nonprofit/education policy sector.