Dr. Eva Mejia has built her career at the intersection of education, innovation, and community. Born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico and based today in northern California, she is driven by a lifelong belief in learning as a catalyst for opportunity and transformation.
Eva is an Executive Director at IDEO, where she leads the firm’s education practice and its systems and strategy design work. With more than 20 years of experience in education and youth development, she is recognized as a trusted strategist, leadership coach, and organizational improvement expert.
Before joining IDEO, she served as Chief Program and Strategy Officer at Big Picture Learning, guiding a national network of schools centered on personalized, real-world learning. She also directed networked improvement science at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, mentoring teams in systems thinking and improvement methods. Earlier roles include curriculum design and coaching with the Data Wise Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and consulting with higher education institutions to strengthen student success strategies.
Her career began in direct service as a social worker, coordinating mentorship, parent engagement, and tutoring programs. This early work grounded her strengths-based approach and deepened her commitment to supporting young people and families across communities.
Eva holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and both a Master of Arts in Sociology and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Stanford University.
