Abigail Tarango

Mentor: Dr. Stan Paz

Abigail Tarango serves as an administrator with the Ysleta ISD in El Paso, Texas, as the Director of Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives, Abigail works in a cross-functional leadership capacity strategic role. She supports the Superintendent and Executive Cabinet with advanced managerial, consultative, and professional work providing leadership, professional expertise, and strategic direction to support the District with various special projects and initiatives. Such as Bond Referendums, Facilities and Construction Projects, Maintenance and Operations Departments, Internal and External Stakeholders, Regional and State-level Relationships, and others. Throughout her career, Abigail has been an educator at the preschool, high school, and post-secondary level, including a faculty role with TRio Upward Bound at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and a faculty member with Texas A&M AgriLife as an Extension Educator for the County of El Paso. Additionally, Abigail has served as a Board Member with El Paso Center for Children, Goodwill of El Paso, Inc., was a member of the Junior League of El Paso, and works closely with Wise Latina International (WLI). She maintains an active role in her community, building bridges between organizations that serve the Paseo del Norte. At a state and national level, Abigail has served in various committees and roles. For example, an active member and protégé of the Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (TALAS), annual presenter and member of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), annual presenter, serving on various committees, and member of the Texas Association of Superintendents and Administrators (TASA), and Advisory Council Board Member for the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color under the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.

As a recipient of the 2017 Women Leading Education (WLE) Across Continents by the School Superintendents Association (AASA), Abigail is also a mama of three teenagers, a doctoral candidate at New Mexico State University (NMSU), a published author, a scholar, speaker/presenter, and advocate for social justice issues, access and opportunity, champion of public education (EE-12), Postsecondary Education, and Educational Pipeline (EE-20).