Juanita Zerda

Managing Director, Field Strategy & Impact

jzerda (at) nationalequityproject.org

Juanita joined the National Equity Project as Managing Director, Field Strategy & Impact, helping lead our bold, field-wide efforts to reimagine education by cultivating the partnerships, frameworks, and collective capacity that turn community-driven innovation into systems change transforming how learning happens.

She is a transformational strategist and executive leader with 20+ years of experience aligning bold vision with operational excellence to drive systemic change. Juanita has led cross-sector efforts across philanthropy, government, and the social sector, partnering with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, City Year and UTEC to expand social and economic mobility in traditionally marginalized communities. In her previous role as Deputy Executive Director of the Collective Change Lab, she helped advance global movements for relational, equity-centered systems change. Her work is grounded in the belief that transformation happens through trust, balanced power dynamics, and values-inspired action.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and now rooted in the U.S., Juanita’s journey, shaped by law, philosophy, and Aikido, has taught her to navigate complexity with empathy and courage. An avid traveler and mother of two biracial, tricultural sons, she brings a global, human lens to leadership, bridging strategy with soul, and helping people transform the systems that shape their lives.