Leila Mongan

10,000 Degrees Board Member since 2021
New York University School of Law, JD, AnBryce Scholar, 2005
Stanford University, BA, 1997

"We had a lot of difficulties growing up, which made it hard to stay engaged in school and left me feeling like school was irrelevant. At school, I felt like I was surrounded by people who didn't understand what I was going through. I didn't have role models who were encouraging me to go to college. When I did finally get to college, I felt a little lost and behind academically. I really could have benefitted from guidance. In college, I definitely felt that the expectation was, 'You made it, now go figure it out on your own.'

Part of what attracts me to 10,000 Degrees is the support that students get – not only to get into college – but going through the entire college system. Looking back on it, I really feel that education is what saved me and broke me out of the struggles that my family had dealt with for so long. Education is the way out; it’s empowering and the way you can change your life. Getting that degree is a way to overcome all the circumstances that are stacked against you. Education is a way to level the playing field and give you a chance at a different life."

A graduate of Stanford University, and New York University School of Law, Leila Mongan is a Councilmember on the Corte Madera Town Council. She formerly served as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, focusing on matters such as litigation, appeals, and advising city commissions and departments. She was a judicial clerk to several federal judges, including serving as a clerk to a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, and practiced at international law firms Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Hogan Lovells LLP. Mongan has experienced, first-hand, the power of educational attainment to change one's life, and she enjoys bringing her unique perspective and experience to the 10,000 Degrees Board of Directors.