Gary Cruz is an educator and school leader with over 30 years of experience in both middle and high school settings. For 23 of those years, Gary served as a teacher and instructional coach with the San Francisco Peer Resources Program, where he supported youth leadership and helped advance the program’s mission to create just change in schools and communities through young people supporting, training, and advocating for one another.

With deep experience in youth development, facilitation, and equity-centered practice, Gary has co-facilitated professional learning, including Equity-Based iGroup Facilitator Trainings and workshops with SF-CESS. Following his retirement from classroom teaching, Gary continues to advance educational equity as the Administrative Manager for the San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools. In this role, he supports organizational operations and serves as the lead coordinator for the SF-CESS Fall Forum, while continuing to contribute to equity-focused professional development.

Gary earned his Bachelor of Science in Product Design Engineering, his teaching credential, and his Master of Arts in Education from Stanford University.