Chanthy Lopes Toro
Assistant Director for Engagement and Communications for Massachusetts
In her role, Chanthy works alongside students, families, and community advocates to build urgency and collective will through meaningful engagement and strategic communications to draw attention to the educational inequities that affect underserved students in Massachusetts.
Before joining Ed Trust, Chanthy served as the Communications and Community Outreach Coordinator at the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) for Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, responsible for continuously engaging teachers, parents, students, and community leaders in ongoing conversations about public education.
During her time at RIDE, Chanthy coordinated the implementation of the strategic objectives and to improve the Providence Public School District (PPSD). She created opportunities to elevate student, parent, and community voices and provided effective avenues for more accessible, transparent, culturally appropriate, and responsive communications. She also oversaw the administration of Surveyworks, the statewide school culture and climate survey completed by more than 130,000 Rhode Islanders, and the development of RIDE’s COVID-19 back-to-school campaign and outreach.
Chanthy holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Rhode Island. She resides in Pawtucket, R.I., with her husband and daughter.
Weakness:
Sour Patch Watermelon and true crime shows and documentaries.
What drew you to education?
I am the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and attended public school in Central Falls, Rhode Island — the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state. Growing up in a low-income community with a single mother living paycheck to paycheck instilled in me that education was not a luxury but a necessity. Like my mother did for me, the desire to advocate for underserved students has driven my career’s work. I began working at an innovative urban K-8 charter school where 84% of students are economically disadvantaged and 37% English learners. Seeing students thrive academically despite many challenges led me to pursue a new opportunity at the Rhode Island Department of Education to engage more constituents and educate the public through storytelling, strategic communications, and engagement. That’s what ultimately brought me to Ed Trust — the need to continue working to close opportunity gaps.