Anne B. Stanton – new president Linked Learning Alliance

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors has named Anne B. Stanton as president of the Linked Learning Alliance. Stanton, who will start in the new role in mid-January, is highly regarded as a pivotal leader in the Linked Learning field, and a founding member of the Alliance. This appointment comes at an important time in the Linked Learning movement as implementation of Linked Learning continues to expand and the Alliance remains focused on supporting quality pathway experiences for students.

“The principles, vision and aspirations that built the Linked Learning movement and have fueled its growth and success in California are near and dear to my heart,” Stanton said. “I am honored that the Board has entrusted me to build on past successes and steer the next phase of the Linked Learning Alliance’s evolution. The opportunity to work, once again, with a community of actors dedicated to ensuring all young people have equitable access to student-centered, robust and real-world learning is one I am very excited to embrace. In partnership with the Alliance Board and staff team, I look forward to expanding the Linked Learning field and supporting high-quality Linked Learning pathways that prepare many more young people to graduate from high school ready to excel in college, to build meaningful careers, and to lead fully engaged lives.”

As an executive leader in the non-profit and philanthropic sector, Stanton has a long track record of developing innovative solutions that promote social justice and equity and improve the lives of young people, particularly in disenfranchised communities. She has most recently served as a senior advisor for the Siegel Family Endowment’s career readiness portfolio, following a two-year tenure at NAF (formerly the National Academy Foundation) where she led the organization’s strategic planning process and “Future Ready Venture,” an initiative designed to drastically increase corporate engagement and internship opportunities for youth across the nation.

Prior to joining NAF, Stanton served from 2003 to 2015 as The James Irvine Foundation’s Program Director for Youth. In this role, she was the principal architect of the Linked Learning movement in California, including the founding of the Linked Learning Alliance. From 1994 to 2003, Stanton served as executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco, turning a $1.5 million storefront shelter into an $11 million nationally recognized continuum of services for homeless and runaway youth.

“Anne Stanton is the ideal person to lead the Linked Learning Alliance,” said David Rattray, Executive Vice President of the Center for Education Excellence and Talent Development at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and Chair of the Linked Learning Alliance Board of Directors. “The Linked Learning movement would not exist without Anne’s extraordinary vision, steadfast leadership, and passion for equity and social justice. As a pioneer in this work, Anne has been involved in improving and expanding every facet of the Linked Learning field. As a result, many thousands of students in California and beyond now benefit from pathways that integrate college and career preparation, internships, and connections with employers in their communities, so they can be better prepared for life after high school. With Anne’s new leadership role as president of the Alliance, I am confident that the Linked Learning field will continue to flourish as a sustainable movement that improves the lives of young people for many years to come.”

Stanton holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a master’s degree in social work from New York University. She is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management and of the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Stanton succeeds Christopher Cabaldon, who served as the executive staff leader of the Alliance from 2010 to August 2017. Hilary McLean, who served as interim president from September to December 2017, will continue in a leadership position with the Alliance as executive vice president.

The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California’s high schools and preparing students for success in college, career, and life. The Alliance coordinates field governance, policy advocacy, strategic communications, and builds systems that support and advance quality implementation of the Linked Learning approach. It was launched several years after The James Irvine Foundation assembled a coalition of educators, industry, and community leaders to reimagine how to make high school more rigorous, relevant, and responsive to the needs to students and employers.

The Alliance aims to build a collective voice and coordinate efforts to expand equitable access to high quality Linked Learning – an approach to high school that integrates rigorous academics with real-world learning opportunities in fields of engineering, health care, performing arts, law, and more.

The Linked Learning Alliance hosts an annual Convention for the Linked Learning field. This year’s gathering will be held Feb. 12-14 in Anaheim and Stanton will be in attendance.