Robert Medina

As Director of Policy and Advocacy, Robert Medina leads a grantmaking team working with partners to inform policy and systems change in California and nationally in our priority issue areas of economic mobility, educational equity, and climate action. Previously, he directed the English Learner Program, Sobrato Philanthropies' inaugural policy and advocacy strategy to strengthen educational supports for multilingual learner students in California’s agenda for public schools.

Robert has contributed to policy strategies across a range of diverse issues, including public education, global health, foreign policy, youth leadership, and others. At Education First, a national strategy and policy consulting firm, he advised foundations, school districts, state agencies, and nonprofits on educational improvement initiatives. At The Aspen Institute, he worked with advocates, community organizers, government leaders, and funders to evaluate and strengthen advocacy campaigns designed to spotlight policy solutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Robert is an alumnus of the Pahara Fellowship and Hispanics in Philanthropy’s Líderes Program. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Capital Stage, a Sacramento-based theater company. He earned an M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Peru, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age ten and was classified as an English Learner by his public school.