Shelly Spiegel-Coleman is currently the Strategic Advisor of Californians Together. She previously served for 13 years as the Executive Director of Californians Together, a coalition of 28 statewide professional, parent, and civil rights organizations championing the success of California’s English learners by closing opportunity gaps resulting from systemic linguistic, academic, racial, and cultural inequalities. Under her leadership, California was the first state to adopt a State Seal of Biliteracy, publish groundbreaking research and policy brief on Long-Term English Learners, and helped move the state from an English-Only era of weak responses to the needs of English learners, and now to a powerful framework of the English Learner Roadmap policy and state vision of multilingual education. In addition, Californians Together made a commitment to building a movement and bringing in new generations of advocates, formalized through building the English Learner Leadership and Legacy Initiative.

Prior to leading Californians Together, Shelly was the Senior Project Director for the Multilingual Academic Support unit for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). She has been appointed to many statewide commissions and advisory committees. She was a teacher, principal, and district specialist. Shelly earned her Master of Education with an emphasis in Bilingual Education from Whittier College, her credential from UCLA, and her undergraduate from California State University at Northridge.