Department of Education

Hometown: Reading, Pennsylvania

Education: Brown University, Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, 2025

Alexandra Mercedes-Santos, a recent Computer Science graduate from Brown University, has pivoted to education reform as a part of the 2026 Urban Education Policy cohort. Coming from her own experience in an underserved urban school district, she’s dedicated to changing schools to serve students, educators and communities instead of having them conform to a system that can often work against them. She believes that dismantling systemic barriers, strengthening cross-sector collaboration, and narrowing the opportunity gap will empower all students to think critically, work collaboratively, and build innovative futures that create good in their communities and our society at large. In the coming year, she hopes to grow as a writer, leader and advocate as she serves and learns from the community of Providence, Rhode Island.