Nicholas Wu

Nicholas Wu (Chief Program Director) joined CISLA in 2021, bringing 10+ years of experience as an educator and program strategist to the team. In his role, he is responsible for building on the strength of CISLA’s program model, with family engagement, social-emotional supports and expanding services as key priorities. He also oversees the strategic initiative to strengthen data and evaluation practices, leading CISLA’s data team and working closely with stakeholders toward long-term program effectiveness. In the past two years with CISLA, Nick has increased the students CISLA serves via case management services from 800 students to 1,300.

Nick is a lifelong educator, dedicated to serving underrepresented communities. He started his career as a 3rd and 4th-grade teacher in the Las Vegas Valley. He has also served in various capacities in several Los Angeles-area non-profit organizations, most recently as the Director of a GEAR UP program, a federally funded college access grant, where he developed and scaled its program implementation model to eventually serve over 8100 students at 26 schools across Los Angeles. Service is a consistent theme in Nick’s career, having managed an AmeriCorps tutoring program during his time with the Youth Policy Institute, serving as a Program Manager with City Year Los Angeles, and as a Teach for America Corps Member himself.

Nick earned an M.Ed. in School Counseling from USC and a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior and Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from UC Irvine. He currently resides in El Sereno with his wife, Adriana, and daughters, Olivia and Mila.