Lul Tesfai

Lul Tesfai joined the Irvine Foundation as the Director of Program Development in November 2022. Lul brings more than a decade of experience leading education and workforce policy development, program implementation and evaluation, with the goal of supporting the economic advancement of marginalized youth and adults. 

Prior to Irvine, Lul was a senior advisor with the Center on Education & Labor at New America, where she helped shape federal, state, and local policies related to high-quality education and training models, workforce development, and worker protections. In this capacity, Lul also worked directly with communities and stakeholders to design and implement systems that improve educational and economic outcomes. 

Lul previously served as the Director of Policy in the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). There she oversaw ED’s career and technical education, adult education, community college, and correctional education and reentry portfolio. She has also worked as a policy consultant for the California Senate Office of Research, an educational consultant to several school districts across the country, and a public school teacher. 

Lul holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from Northwestern University.