More Than the “Head of Fun”: Connecting the Pieces That Make AVID Work

The scene is a familiar one to anyone who has attended an AVID event: Educators actively learning, collaborating, reflecting, and engaging with one another throughout the day. 

But what particularly caught the attention of one group of AVID student leaders was how much fun those educators seemed to be having. 

When they learned who was responsible for helping lead and coordinate those learning experiences, they summed it up with a title that has stuck ever since: “So you’re the Head of Fun.” 

For Dr. Aliber Lozano, Head of Enhanced Products and Services at AVID Center, the nickname captures something deeper. It reflects a career dedicated to creating learning experiences that energize educators and translate into meaningful outcomes for students. Over more than 20 years at AVID, Aliber has helped shape many of the practices, resources, and systems that educators use every day. 

Connecting the Pieces That Make AVID Work 

If you’ve participated in an AVID training, used implementation tools, facilitated a collaborative structure, or discussed the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework, it’s likely you have encountered Aliber’s work. 

Among his proudest contributions is helping guide AVID’s evolution from separate elementary, secondary, and higher education programs into a unified system that supports students and educators across the educational journey. 

Over the years, he has designed collaborative structures, developed professional learning practices and resources, organized district leader trainings and networks, and shaped implementation tools that help educators monitor and measure learning into action for students. 

At the heart of that work is a consistent goal of helping educators connect individual strategies and experiences to a larger purpose, ultimately creating stronger outcomes for students. 

That same focus drives one of his current priorities in advancing college, career, and life readiness through AVID’s professional learning experiences. The work is closely tied to AVID’s mission and helping educators understand what AVID does and how its many components work together to support students. 

As Aliber describes it, “This work is about articulating what AVID is grounded on, where it started, and where it is going for the impact and goals that only AVID can achieve when implemented with fidelity.” 

Building Learning Experiences That Lead to Student Impact 

The student leaders who dubbed Aliber the “Head of Fun” saw only part of the picture. Behind every engaging learning experience is a deliberate focus on helping educators develop new knowledge, apply it in practice, and ultimately improve outcomes for students. 

That focus sits at the heart of Aliber’s work. He leads the development of products and services that support quality AVID implementation, and he oversees professional learning experiences across the organization. 

For Aliber, professional learning is about creating experiences that help educators see new possibilities, strengthen their skills, and successfully apply their learning in ways that impact students. Success, to him, is when educators leave an AVID learning experience feeling energized, capable, and ready to put their learning into practice. 

Achieving that impact requires both collaboration and continuous learning. Aliber regularly partners with internal stakeholders and subject-matter experts while drawing on research, implementation insights, partner feedback, and data to ensure that AVID’s resources, products, and learning experiences remain relevant and grounded in the organization’s mission. By combining evidence with expertise, he helps ensure educators receive relevant, high-quality support that builds their confidence, strengthens their practice, and helps them create meaningful outcomes for students. 

A Teacher Leader, Then and Now 

“I’ve always been a teacher leader,” Aliber says reflectively. “I still am.” 

Before joining AVID full time, Aliber served in roles ranging from English Language Arts teacher, varsity swim coach, and AVID Coordinator to interim dean of instruction, district leader, higher education specialist, and consultant. 

A defining moment came at a conference where Aliber found himself speaking about the impact AVID was having at his school. The connections he made that day eventually opened the door to opportunities with the organization, though he initially declined an invitation to join AVID while completing his doctorate. Years later, a call offering a national leadership role brought him to San Diego and launched the next chapter of his journey. 

The experiences he gained along the way continue to shape how he serves educators today. Having stood in their shoes, he understands that meaningful change requires support, trust, and learning experiences that help educators see what is possible for their students and themselves. 

Leaving a Legacy Through Learning 

For Aliber, the mission has always been personal. 

As a first-generation Latino college graduate, he was drawn to AVID because of its potential to expand opportunity and create lasting impact. “Impact is what drew me to AVID. The ability to lend my skills and learn from others to have greater impact.” 

Much of that perspective comes from his father, a Mexican-American immigrant who had a third-grade education and often reminded his children: “Lo único que les puedo dejar es una educación.” 

“The one thing I can leave you is an education.” 

It’s a belief that continues to guide Aliber’s work today: “I stay in AVID to leave a legacy.” 

That legacy is built not only through the resources, trainings, and systems he has helped create but through the educators he supports every day. His approach begins with listening. “Hearing others is a catalyst for thinking, vision, strategy, planning, doing, studying and reflection.” 

Aliber sees listening as the foundation of learning and growth. And he was listening when an AVID student shared advice that stayed with him throughout the years: “The only time you should look down at someone is when you are reaching out to lend them a hand.” 

Those lessons reflect his philosophy of continuously learning, lifting others up, and creating opportunities for others to succeed. 

For Aliber, every educator who grows in confidence, strengthens their practice, and expands opportunities for students becomes part of that legacy. In designing learning experiences, developing resources, and helping educators connect the pieces that make AVID work, the goal remains the same in empowering educators to create lasting impact for students. 

It turns out that the student leaders were right. Aliber may be the “Head of Fun,” but the real story is how he helps turn engagement into understanding, understanding into action, and action into opportunity. 

Takeaways for Educators and Leaders 

The lessons that shaped Aliber’s career offer a few reminders for educators and leaders: 

• Build on what works while continuing to grow. Legacy is about honoring what came before while innovating, adapting, and evolving to meet the needs of today’s learners and tomorrow’s opportunities.
• Listen first. Learning begins by understanding the perspectives, experiences, and needs of others.
• Hold high expectations and provide strong support. Challenge students with rigor while encouraging them and creating the conditions and opportunities they need to succeed.
• Prepare students for success beyond graduation. College, career, and life readiness are ongoing journeys. Learn more by listening to the AVID Open Access® podcast episode, Supporting Students After Graduation, and reading Aliber’s essay in Education and Career News, Supporting Your Multilingual Learner’s Confidence for College.
• Make use of the resources and support available through AVID. As Aliber reminds us, “You are not alone.”
• And when things feel overwhelming, before taking that first step, start where Aliber often begins: Take a deep breath.