Matin Abdel-Qawi has been an equity-centered educational leader in Oakland Unified School District for nearly thirty years. As a middle school teacher, he realized the need to bring Oakland’s legacy of social activism to the classroom. He advocated for every scholar to have access to algebra in the eighth grade ending a decades long practice of assigning Black and Brown scholars to general math while creating nearly all white Algebra classes.

In 2004 as the Founding Principal of East Oakland School of the Arts, he created a small autonomous school founded on the belief that any student will perform at high levels when given the love and support needed.  After leading the school for seven years, he took his experience of advocating for Black male students and became the Director of OUSD’s African American Male Achievement’s Manhood Development Program and designed and started several programs at schools around the district.

In 2013, Matin became the Principal of Oakland High School where he created systems and programs that are rooted in equity, diversity and access for every student. In 2020 Matin was promoted to OUSD’s High School Network Superintendent. One of the first initiatives Matin led was to engage all of the high school principals in a learning and discovery experience focused on understanding and dismantling anti Blackness practices, policies, and procedures at schools and replacing them with ones that Engage, Empower, and Encourage all Black scholars.

After nearly three decades in the Oakland Unified School District Matin left OUSD to join Kingmakers of Oakland as its Chief Program Officer. In this new role Matin is responsible for making sure that all of our district partners receive best-in-class services. Matin holds a BA from Stockton State University, NJ and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley.