At a young age, Ivan’s mother, a middle school ESL teacher, instilled in him the value of education. Since then, he has viewed academics as a means for social advancement, and worked to include others in that vision. During college, he served as director of Young Men’s Circle, Pomona College’s only youth mentorship program, and founded an annual scholarship for the mentees. At TalkingPoints, he supports educators on a national scale.
Ivan earned a bachelor of arts in international relations and Middle Eastern studies from Pomona College before serving as a Fulbright English teacher in Rabat, Morocco. He is an Arabic speaker and is fascinated by intercultural communication.