Andrea Vaca-Rodriguez is Making Waves Education Foundation’s Data Specialist. In her role, she focuses on ensuring data is accurate, actionable, and aligned across the organization. Her role includes supporting and designing actionable reports and dashboards that help enable data-driven decisions, problem-solving, learning and design. Previously, Andrea taught high school mathematics and computer science. She has applied different curriculums and pedagogical practices to her work and has worked with students from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. In addition to teaching, she has coached youth in rugby, debate, and robotics teams. In her coaching, she focused on encouraging and recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds. Andrea has always sought to use her knowledge and relationships with students to expose them to different pathways, careers, resources, and opportunities. Her passion in education stems from her experiences as a Mexican-immigrant and first-generation woman pursuing a degree in mathematics and philosophy. Thus, working towards Making Waves Education Foundation’s mission is compelling to her in many personal and professional dimensions.