Elisha Smith Arrillaga is fiercely committed to increasing education and workforce opportunities for students of color. Throughout her more than 20 years of leadership in for-profit, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, she has worked to center students in moving practice and policy change at both the state and national level. Most recently, she led work to change K–12 and postsecondary math education policy in more than 35 states while serving as the managing director of the Charles A. Dana Center, a national center on STEM equity at the University of Texas at Austin. She also led several statewide research and advocacy initiatives as the executive director of The Education Trust—West. She has taught at both the K–12 and postsecondary levels and has also worked for and partnered with many organizations, including the Careers Ladders Project, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, and College Bound. She has authored dozens of publications and is often interviewed by media outlets. Smith Arrillaga holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Smith College, a Master of Science in survey methodology from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a doctorate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. She is currently on the faculty of the College of Education at UT-Austin.