Executive Director
Arlen Benjamin-Gomez brings 20 years of experience as an education advocate and policymaker, deeply rooted in the fabric of New York. She serves as the executive director of EdTrust-New York, where she works alongside advocacy organizations and stakeholders to increase educational opportunity and equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds across New York State.
Prior to joining EdTrust-New York, she served as an education equity advisor and consultant, collaborating closely with states, districts, and non-profit organizations to propel forward racial, socio-economic, and cultural equity in education. Moreover, her expertise and leadership have been instrumental in advancing critical initiatives around district and school integration, culturally responsive and sustaining education, and legal rights to education as the senior director of legal strategy and Policy at the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University.
Before her time at Columbia University, Arlen dedicated her efforts as a fellow at the Regents Research Fund, focusing on policy, curriculum, assessment, and grant programs aimed at enhancing educational services and bilingual education for Multilingual Learners in New York. Her roots in advocacy were further established during her tenure as a staff attorney at Advocates for Children in the Immigrant Students’ Rights Project, where she championed the educational opportunities for immigrant and Multilingual Learner students and families. Arlen began her career as a law fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, where she litigated employment and civil rights class actions on behalf of migrant farm workers in the South.
Arlen holds a J.D. from New York University Law School and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Born in Cuba and raised in San Francisco, Arlen has made New York her home, where she is a proud mom of two New York City public school students in Washington Heights.
Proudest Moment
Personally, becoming a mom. Professionally, revising the statewide regulations governing systems and services for English learners to align with best practices and increase access to high-quality bilingual education.
What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
Spend time with family and friends, dance salsa and afrobeats, and play dominos.
Why are you passionate about working at EdTrust-New York?
Education is fundamental to democracy and self-determination. When students of color and those from low-income backgrounds are systematically under-educated, we rob generations of kids from reaching their full potential. By centering these students and fighting for equity, Ed Trust advances meaningful and structural change for communities of color and communities with limited economic resources.
