Reconstructing Reality | Interview with Alex Bybee

Alex Bybee sees educational equity as a moral imperative that is required to fulfill America's promise to our children. He brings this truth to his role as the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Communities in Schools of Nevada—the fifth-largest state office of the nation's leading dropout prevention organization that serves over 70,000 students in 75 schools across the Clark, Elko, Humboldt, and Washoe County school districts. Alex leads key strategic projects for the organization, builds relationships with elected and community stakeholders to amplify the impact of the mission, and advises the CEO on the education policy landscape. Previously, he worked for Teach Plus, where he served as the inaugural State Leader for Nevada and led his teachers in legislative efforts which preserved student outcomes as part of Nevada's teacher evaluation system and overhauled Nevada’s decades-old school finance plan to achieve greater equity in the state’s funding formula. A lifelong Nevadan, graduate of the Clark County School District (CCSD), and proud alumnus of the Honors Program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), he is deeply and personally invested in the health, education, and wellbeing of Nevada’s children and families. His passion for our education system dates back to his involvement as a student advocate in CCSD and at UNR, having served as the President of the Nevada Association of Student Councils, Chairman of the Nevada Youth Legislature and Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of Nevada. He stays actively engaged as a mentor, counselor and workshop presenter to each of the organizations for which he is an alum. For three years, Alex served on the steering committee and National Board of Governors for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) which envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. He remains engaged as a volunteer and fundraiser for pro-equality candidates in Nevada. His most meaningful accomplishment is managing and leading the strategy for Save Our Schools Washoe in the 2016 election cycle, which brought together a diverse and broad-based coalition of partners that successfully campaigned for passage of a ballot initiative that provides a new and permanent funding stream for the construction and repair of Washoe County schools — an estimated $800 million over the next decade. Alex is an alumnus of the Jameson Fellowship and a member of the Leadership Las Vegas Class of 2020. He stays connected to his passion for civic discourse and independent journalism by serving as a moderator for the Sun Youth Forum and as a founding co-chair of the Advisory Board of The Nevada Independent. Outside of nonprofits and politics, he loves design, the arts, and being in nature. Connect with him on LinkedIn or tweet him at @AlexBybeeNV. His pronouns are he/him/his. #education #mentor #compassion Support this podcast