Diana Roybal builds a leadership consulting practice around equity and belief

Diana Roybal, founder of Rise Up Leadership Consulting LLC, is turning nearly three decades in education into executive coaching, governance training, mentorship, and strategic planning work. She is also expanding her public profile with a September 2026 book and new efforts to support women leaders and diverse educator pipelines.

Why it matters: - Diana Roybal is translating senior K-12 experience into a consulting practice aimed at building stronger, more equity-driven school leaders. - Her work targets a real leadership gap: preparing more women, and more women of color, for roles that shape schools and districts. - Her new book and consulting launch extend her influence beyond one district or campus into broader leadership development.

What happened: - Diana Roybal is the founder and lead consultant of Rise Up Leadership Consulting LLC. - Roybal has about three decades of experience in education leadership. - Her consulting services include executive coaching, leadership development, school board governance training, strategic planning, and mentorship. - She focuses especially on supporting women leaders. - Roybal is also a keynote speaker. - She is the author of The Leader’s Atlas: Principles for Navigating the Complexities of Educational Leadership, published in September 2026.

The details: - Roybal’s career started in early childhood education while she was raising her family. - Her education path included an associate’s degree from Aurora Community College, a teaching degree, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, principal licensure, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. - Her academic credentials also include an Ed.S. from the University of Colorado Denver, an Ed.D. from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Education from Colorado Christian University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado Christian University. - Her professional roles included teacher, principal, executive director, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. - Roybal led school and district improvement efforts in Colorado and California. - She served as superintendent of Goleta Union School District in California. - She later returned to Colorado to care for her mother during a battle with Alzheimer’s. - She finished her public-school career as assistant superintendent of performance improvement for Cherry Creek School District. - She now directs statewide leadership and pipeline initiatives for the Colorado Association of Latino/a Administrators and Superintendents, or CO-ALAS. - Roybal mentors emerging leaders through CO-ALAS and works to expand equity-driven leadership opportunities. - She teaches aspiring school leaders at Regis University. - She also partners with Teachers of Tomorrow to help diversify and strengthen the educator workforce. - Her volunteer work supports affinity spaces for women and women of color. - Roybal is a member of Colorado ALAS and Teachers of Tomorrow.

Between the lines: - Roybal frames her leadership philosophy around humility, continuous learning, and belief in one’s own capacity. - She says purpose keeps demanding work energizing rather than draining. - She also emphasizes learning from people whose work reflects integrity and impact. - Her advice to young women in educational leadership is to seek opportunities directly, persist through rejection, and not wait for permission. - She sees the leadership field as open to new voices and new models, but she also recognizes that standing out in a crowded market requires a distinct brand and patience with uncertainty. - The article presents her transition from educator to consultant as a move from direct school leadership to broader influence through service, equity, and mentorship.

What’s next: - Roybal is preparing to launch Rise Up Leadership Consulting, build its online presence, and expand her book’s reach. - She plans to keep growing her consulting, teaching, mentorship, and writing work as platforms for developing the next generation of leaders. - Her stated goal is to continue investing in people across boardrooms, classrooms, and homes. - More information is available through Diana Roybal's Influential Women profile or Rise Up Leadership Consulting.

The bottom line: - Roybal is turning a long career in public education into a broader mission: develop more diverse leaders, strengthen schools, and build opportunity through belief, mentorship, and equity.