Juan Aguinaga is Chief of Staff at PREP Public Schools, a network of tuition-free, all-boys public charter schools. He supports organizational strategy, drives academic initiatives, and ensures alignment across campuses to deliver high-quality education to historically underserved students. He played a pivotal role in leading the organization’s acceptance into Charter School Growth Fund’s scale portfolio, building leadership pipelines, and leading replication initiatives. Under his leadership, Prep Public Schools achieved a TVAAS Level 5 growth and earned a B letter grade for two consecutive years, and secured first-time reward federal accountability status.

Before joining Prep, Juan served as the social studies high school achievement manager at KIPP New Orleans, where he developed curriculum, assessments, and led professional development for the network’s high schools. In 2020, he completed Columbia University’s Summer Principal’s Academy program, gaining expertise in scaling and managing high-performing charter schools. His career began with Teach For America in his hometown, the Rio Grande Valley, where he served as a teacher and teacher leader at IDEA Public Schools. He consistently led his students to achieve some of the highest standardized test scores in the district and improved AP results.

A low-income student himself, Juan is passionate about ensuring all students, regardless of their background, have the chance to pursue a college education. He believes the true risk lies not in academic failure, but in the inequities created by adults that deny students from a just opportunity to achieve their highest potential.

Juan graduated from Leadership Chattanooga’s 2023 class and continues to serve his community. He earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership from Columbia University and his bachelor’s in international relations from Texas A&M University. He met his wife, Kaitlyn Bruce, at KIPP New Orleans, and they are excited to welcome their first child, Atlas Bruce Aguinaga, in August 2025.