Benito Aranda-Comer

Benito Aranda-Comer is a K–12 policy analyst at EdTrust-West, where he leads and supports statewide efforts to strengthen and diversify California’s educator workforce and advance equitable access to high-quality instruction. A Houston native and former eighth grade English language arts teacher, Aranda-Comer grounds his policy work in classroom experience and a deep understanding of how systemic inequities shape outcomes for students of color and multilingual learners.

At EdTrust-West, Aranda-Comer co-leads the California Educator Diversity Action Network, driving cross-sector collaboration on educator recruitment, retention, compensation, and pathways into the profession. He also contributes to EdTrust-West’s math policy portfolio, supporting advocacy through the High-Quality Instructional Materials Learning Partners Coalition to improve student access to rigorous, inclusive mathematics through implementation of the California Math Framework. Aranda-Comer brings a practitioner-informed lens to policy, centering educators as essential partners in building systems that allow all students to thrive.