Alejandro Gibes de Gac

When Alejandro Gibes de Gac was 7, his family immigrated to the US seeking educational opportunities for their children. His parents’ tireless efforts enabled Alejandro and his sister to overcome their circumstances and pursue their dreams. Alejandro published two books by 14 and was admitted to Harvard by 16. After graduating from college, Alejandro joined Teach For America and became a first grade teacher in Philadelphia. There he became frustrated that the school system treats marginalized parents as liabilities, rather than as assets. Alejandro founded Springboard Collaborative more than a decade ago to close the literacy gap by bridging the gap between home and school. Springboard runs out-of-school time programs that help teachers and parents team up to improve reading outcomes for 35K+ students across the country. While continuing to lead Springboard, Alejandro co-founded the edtech startup Paloma. Paloma harnesses AI to unleash parents’ untapped teaching potential. Their mobile app enables parents to provide 15 minutes a day of curriculum-aligned instruction at home. In districts like Houston ISD, Metro Nashville, and LAUSD, 76% of K–2 families use Paloma. This accelerates reading growth by 41% — twice that for multilingual learners — while saving teachers time. Alejandro’s career is guided by a singular objective: to close the opportunity gap by equipping all parents to support their children's learning and success.