Maricela Guerrero is the Executive Director of Rocketship Public Schools California. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a lifelong educator, Maricela’s work is driven by the conviction that every child deserves a school in their own neighborhood that prepares them to thrive—a mission she believes is only possible through deep partnership with families and a joyful, student-centered learning environment.
Since joining Rocketship as a founding teacher in 2007, Maricela has helped build the organization from the ground up, rising from founding educator to school principal to regional leader. Today, she leads the California region within Rocketship’s national network, focusing on scaling equity and excellence through strategic talent development and personalized, data-driven instruction. By fostering a culture of continuous professional growth, she equips her team to provide every Rocketeer the targeted support they need to excel.

This approach has yielded significant results: Under her leadership, Rocketship’s California schools routinely rank in the top 10% in the state in both math and English Language Arts among all districts and charter networks serving a similar student population. Additionally, five Rocketship California campuses were recently named "Top Schools" by Innovate Public Schools for their exceptional success in helping Black and Latino students reach and exceed grade-level outcomes.
A 2024 Women We Admire awardee, Maricela seeks the reflective space of the Pahara Fellowship to navigate the complex "values tensions" of systemic leadership. She looks forward to engaging with a diverse cohort of peers to explore new ways of sustaining her team and mission, ensuring she can continue to advocate for educational excellence at scale.

Maricela holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master’s in Education from the University of Phoenix.