Karla Vigil is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Equity Institute, an organization dedicated to creating equitable and sustainable learning environments. With over 20 years of experience in education, Karla has established herself as a respected leader and advocate for advancing systemic change, particularly in addressing educational inequities.

Karla's professional expertise spans key areas such as educator diversity, culturally responsive teaching, organizational leadership, and professional development. Her role as a fourth-grade teacher remains one of her most valuable experiences, shaping her unique understanding of the education sector from the classroom to policy-making.

At the Equity Institute, Karla oversees the organization’s creative vision and spearheads strategic initiatives to develop equitable policies and practices. She is particularly passionate about increasing the recruitment and retention of teachers of color, efforts that extend beyond her state to a national scale.

Karla is a Deeper Learning Equity Fellow (cohort 3) and a Pahara Fellow (Winter 2020 cohort). She has served as a community advisor for the Nellie Mae Foundation and an Edu Equity Advisor for Google for Education. Currently, she is a member of the Health Equity Collective.