Cynthia Tapia

Cynthia Tapia is a Financial Administrator in the Charter Schools Department at the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). In coordination with the department team, she is responsible for providing financial oversight and ensuring access to equitable and quality public education for the twenty-two charter schools authorized by the Santa Clara County Board of Education.

Ms. Tapia started her finance and accounting career over a decade ago as a Business Manager at Escuela Popular, a nonprofit charter school in East San Jose which serves a predominantly Latino population. Prior to joining the SCCOE, she was an Accounting Manager at The Foundation for Hispanic Education (TFHE), a nonprofit charter school organization in East San Jose responsible for operating three charter high schools. During her seven-year tenure at TFHE, Ms. Tapia participated in an extensive hands-on experience focused on nonprofit charter school finance and accounting operations.

Growing up, Ms. Tapia attended public K-12 institutions in the Gilroy/Los Banos area before attending Santa Clara University. As a first-generation college student, Ms. Tapia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting while participating in the INROADS internship program as an intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Additionally, Ms. Tapia served as President of Latino Business Student Association and co-established the Hermanas Unidas chapter at Santa Clara University. The disparity in her experience with public and private education has made Ms. Tapia passionate about working towards closing the equity and achievement gap in underserved and historically underrepresented communities. Ms. Tapia continues to give back to the community by following her passion and becoming a mentor at Peninsula College Fund, a nonprofit organization supporting low-income, first-generation college students in reaching their higher education goals.