Robert Rivera is the Associate Director of Project GRAD, a school-community collaboration that focuses on improving the instructional quality, school environment and the college entrance of at-risk children in Houston. The model for the Administration’s GEAR-UP program, Project GRAD has emerged as a leading school reform effort in the United States for public schools in distressed urban communities.

Previously, Rivera served as project manager and cluster leader for Communities in Schools at Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Texas. In these capacities, he supervised staff in delivering a multitude of services to students, including mentoring, tutoring, health care and employment, for at-risk high school students.