Influential Woman · Non-Profit: Educational advocacy
Ivelisse Caraballo
Executive Director, https://www.cplanma.org/
Boston, MA 02116
Her Story
About Ivelisse
Ivelisse Caraballo serves as Executive Director, a role she has held for six years. As a founding member of her organization, she began as a volunteer helping to build its infrastructure before stepping into leadership. She brings 11 years of experience in education advocacy and family engagement, informed by her background as a product of the Boston Public Schools where she was an English language learner. As a mother of two, her personal navigation of METCO and charter school options for her children sparked her commitment to systemic change. Without a formal education background in the field, she has self-educated through extensive research, workshops, trainings, and conferences. She attributes her success to women leaders who invested in her growth and advises others to lead with curiosity, humility, and a learning mindset while never doubting their abilities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ivelisse
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success is attributed to other women leaders who believed in me when I didn't see it in myself. They invested time and resources to help identify my gifts and put me in positions to flourish. There was always a woman in leadership that saw something in me and nurtured my growth.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice is that you don't always have to have all the answers, but leading with curiosity and intentionality will equip you to bring valuable insight. Lead with curiosity, humility, and a learning mindset to build capacity and contribute in every space.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't ever doubt your abilities. Once you identify your strengths, opportunities are endless. Don't let anyone shrink you or make you feel you don't belong because you lack accreditations or polish. Everyone has a gift and talent - identify it, nurture it, and turn it into something greater. If your heart compels you to be there, you belong there.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
CPLAN's greatest challenge is securing the sustained funding needed to maintain the infrastructure for meaningful parent leadership and family-school partnership. We are doing work that is essential to educational improvement, yet remains unfamiliar to many funders and institutions: cultivating the leadership capacity of parents and caregivers to become informed advocates, co-leaders, and decision-makers in the policies and practices that shape their children's education.
This work is unique and unknown, making it hard for funders to invest in something unfamiliar with little to no measurable impact because student success cannot be attributed to a single parent, teacher, or school. Our work requires investment in parent leadership development, culturally responsive engagement, school staff capacity-building, community relationships, and the structures that allow parent voice to influence decisions over time. yet, funding often prioritizes immediate, easily quantifiable outcomes, making it difficult to secure support for the foundational work that creates the conditions for long-term change.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in both my personal life and my work are faith, family, dignity, empowerment, equity, and service. I believe every person deserves to be seen, heard, valued, respected, and given the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances.
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