Anthony Dorado's road back to the program that trained him began when a busy CEO made time for him, and now he tries to give fifteen minutes to anyone who reaches out.

In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Anthony, Executive Director of City Teaching Alliance in Greater DC Metro, a nonprofit that prepares teachers for city schools, to talk about changing careers and leading with empathy.

Anthony grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles, in a first-generation Mexican family. His parents were 16 when he was born, so his grandparents raised him in a home full of aunts and uncles. He started kindergarten without speaking English, was in English as a second language classes until high school, and found a mentor in his charter high school's founding principal.

He started out in private banking and left after almost two years because the work did not match his convictions. When his best friend, a teacher, asked if he wanted to teach math, he said why not, and fell in love with teaching. He joined Urban Teachers, now City Teaching Alliance, which pairs a master's degree with a teaching fellowship, and moved to Washington, DC. After working internationally as CEO of education for a private equity firm, he came back to lead the region where he trained.

Mike and Anthony get into how the four-year fellowship works, why classroom management is team management, and why Anthony assumes best intent when something goes wrong. He also lays out what is next for City Teaching Alliance, which now calls itself a workforce development organization: an accelerated pathway into teaching, a pathway for paraprofessionals, and a move into Virginia.

Tune in to hear what Anthony would tell his younger self in Los Angeles, starting with skateboarding.

City Teaching Alliance names Anthony Dorado executive director for Greater DC Metro: https://cityteachingalliance.org/blog/city-teaching-alliance-expands-leadership-team-with-three-new-executive-directors/
Urban Teachers renamed City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/urban-teachers-announces-name-change-to-city-teaching-alliance/
Public school spending per pupil, U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/school-system-finances.html

Anthony Dorado at City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/employees/anthony-dorado/
More about City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/
City Teaching Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cityteachingalliance/

Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/

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Stay strong.