Ref Rodriquez
Ref Rodriguez, Ed.D. is President and CEO of Partners for Developing Futures (Partners). Partners is a social venture investment fund that primarily invests in high-potential, early-stage minority-led charter schools and charter school networks that serve underserved students. Our mission is to efficiently identify, recruit, and support leaders of color in creating and growing high-quality charter schools and charter school networks.
Prior to joining Partners, Ref was founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC), a charter school management organization serving communities in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and Northeast and Downtown Los Angeles. Under his leadership PUC developed 10 schools and became a well regarded charter management organization in California. Ref's original inspiration for starting a charter school was to offer high quality learning experiences for youth in the predominantly Latino working class community where he grew up. His outrage for being considered "fortunate" for having graduated from college because of his socio-economic background is what drives him to create and support schools where college graduation is an expectation for all. Before joining the charter schools movement, Ref worked in the business sector and as a teacher and administrator in Catholic parochial schools. He is the first of five children of Mexican immigrants to graduate from college.
Ref was a Board member and served as Vice Chair of the Board of the California Charter Schools Association. He is a fellow of the Aspen Institute-NewSchools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education, Class of 2007. He was Executive-in-Residence at the School of Education, Loyola Marymount University where he developed a Master's and California Administrative Credential program for aspiring leaders in charter schools (Charter School Leadership Academy).