Christina Lomeli is a Senior Project Manager with John Burton Advocates for Youth on the Education team, bringing 20 years of experience in California Community Colleges and a deep commitment to equity and justice for foster and unhoused youth. She specializes in designing and implementing trauma-informed and data-driven strategies that expand college access and support student success. Her areas of focus have included NextUp, Guardian Scholars, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), dual enrollment, financial aid, basic needs, and overall campus readiness.
Before transitioning into higher education, Christina worked in Child Welfare Services, where she developed a strong foundation in systems-level support for children and families. Her experience across sectors fuels her ability to lead cross-agency collaborations and student-centered initiatives with both empathy and precision.
At JBAY, Christina leads statewide initiatives to increase postsecondary educational attainment for students with experience in foster care and homelessness. She is passionate about removing systemic barriers and centering the voices of young people with lived experience on the path to self-sufficiency and long-term success.
Christina holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from San Diego State University, where she was a CalSWEC (Title IV‑E) scholar trained in a competency-based child welfare curriculum, and earned her B.A. in Psychology from UC San Diego. A proud first-generation college graduate, she is deeply committed to expanding educational opportunities as a pathway to equity and empowerment for marginalized communities.
