Israel Ybarra is senior vice president of school development at IDEA Public Schools, where he supports principal managers across two regions who oversee forty-six schools. In this role, Israel drives instructional quality, develops leadership capacity, and advances joyful and inclusive learning environments.

Israel has spent 27 years in education as a secondary humanities teacher, school principal, and senior organizational leader. His work has focused on strengthening systems, scaling effective practices, and expanding access to high-quality educational opportunities for students from low income and underrepresented communities.
At IDEA Public Schools, Israel has served as director of curriculum and student support services, principal, and vice president of schools. As a principal, he led an Advanced Placement for All initiative that expanded access to Advanced Placement coursework and increased the number of AP Scholars. Under his leadership, IDEA College Prep Alamo was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Most Challenging High Schools in America, and he graduated three senior classes with one hundred percent college matriculation.

A first generation college graduate, Israel earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas Pan American. He lives in South Texas with his wife, Nereida, and they are the parents of four children, including one attending the University of Texas at Austin and another who recently graduated from Southern Methodist University.