Charla is the Director for Public Achievement at CU Boulder. Public Achievement is an internationally recognized model for youth civic engagement. At CU Charla teaches undergraduates from all majors who join with k-12 youth to engage in a year-long process of understanding our identities and self-interests, developing a critical lens on community engagement and working for change in our schools and communities. Charla was born and raised in Denver, CO, attended the University of Denver for her bachelors (BA in Sociology and Spanish) and worked as a Middle School Language Arts teacher and Restorative Justice Coordinator in Denver Public Schools from 2009-2015. She joned the CU Engage staff as the Director of PA in fall of 2015. Charla has a Masters in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from UCDenver, with a focus in Critical Civic Inquiry and Urban Pedagogy. Charla is currently perusing an Educational Doctorate (EdD) in Leadership for Educational Equity with a concentration in Urban and Diverse Communities. Charla is passionate about intersectional social change, racial equity in education and is motivated by the power of youth voice.