Ilana Lopez

Assistant Director

Ilana Sabban Lopez is the Program Director for the Center for Community Service Learning at the University of San Diego (USD), where she encourages reflective student engagement in the K-12 education community through USD’s work-study program, Americorps scholarship program, and volunteer opportunities. Most recently, while finishing her M.Ed. in Literacy, Culture, and TESOL at USD, she was awarded the Francis Parker Fellowship where she took on the role of an Associate Teacher in three second grade classrooms. Ilana also ran an after school program for Title 1 students at Bayside Community Center through her position as Graduate Assistant at the Center for Service Learning.

Ilana began her career in the nonprofit sector in Washington, DC, where she worked with organizations such as the Children’s Defense Fund and Teaching for Change, all of which focused on spreading awareness of the social issues impacting children and working families. While at Teaching for Change, Ilana facilitated the Civil Rights Teaching Global Learning Network, presented at the first Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner Living Memorial Civil Rights Education Summit, collaborated with the Tellin’ Stories project that focused on helping to organize low-income parents around education issues, supervised and recruited undergraduate interns, and created a resource guide for teachers on how to educate students on the socio-economic and racial issues that arose during Hurricane Katrina. Ilana is committed to working on youth issues and empowering students through education.