Adam M. Lara

Associate Director, UCLA Center for Community Schooling

Adam M. Lara, Ph.D., serves as the Associate Director at the UCLA Center for Community Schooling. In this role, he works to advance the Center’s research-practice partnerships and oversees the Center’s statewide operations for California’s Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP). Drawing on over 15 years of experience leading cross-sector collaborations across public agencies, philanthropy, and school districts, Dr. Lara’s research focuses on family-school partnerships and community-centered strategies to build equitable collaborations. Dr. Lara leverages engaged scholarship and policy to drive equitable school transformation.

Adam earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Departments

Department of Education

Areas of Expertise and Advising Interests

Research Centers

UCLA Center for Community Schooling

Status

Academic Administrator

Titles and Positions

Associate Director, UCLA Center for Community Schooling

Education

Ph.D. Educational Foundations, Leadership, & Policy, University of Washington, Seattle, 2024
M.A., Social & Cultural Analysis of Education, California State University, Long Beach
B.A., Chicano & Latino Studies, California State University, Long Beach, 2008

Awards, Honors and Fellowships

2025 UCLA Hispanic-Serving Research Institute Fellow
2023 University of Washington Graduate Student Equity & Excellence Dissertation Award

Select Publications

Gyles, S., Lara, A., and Bustamante, A. (2026) From the ground up: The journey of the Monroe UC Irvine community school partnership. In Journal of University and Community Schools, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania.
Lara, A. (2024) “On the Border of a Precipice for a Paradigm Shift: Navigating Tensions to Cultivating Equitable Collaboration in Family School Partnerships” [Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington]. Proquest Dissertations.
Bermudez, V. N., Lara, A., Ochoa, K., Garcia, L., Pesch, A., Anderson, M. J., Salazar, J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Ahn, J., Bustamante, A. S., Gomez, W., and Rodriguez, R. (2024) Engaging Parents as Co-Designers and Researchers in Research-Practice Partnerships. NNERPP Extra, 6(4), 2-10.
Lara, A. (2020) Long Beach Launches Office of Equity to Engage, Educate, and Serve. Western City Magazine, League of California Cities.
Pleitéz H. K., Lara, A., Watson, E., Ringewald, C., Forouzan, L. (2019) “Building California’s Future: Tackling the Facilities Challenge for Our Youngest Learners. Policy Brief. Advancement Project California.