Tanya Anton is the creator of GoMamaGuide and author of a series of guidebooks and other tools helping parents navigate the daunting array of K-12 public school choices throughout greater Los Angeles, the second largest school district in the country. In addition to offering public school demystification and guidance to parents, Tanya has risen steadily as a go-to source of information, inspiration, and action to community stakeholders, schools, and administrators looking to drive public school revitalization.
Affectionately known as “LA’s Public School Guru” with “a PhD in LAUSD,” Tanya has appeared on NPR’s Which Way LA with Warren Olney seven times, Spectrum News 1, The Guardian, NPR.org, The LA Times, LA Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, LA Daily Beast and other press outlets, presented on motherhood and social activism in NYC, lobbied against school budget cuts up in Sacramento, and has appeared before the LAUSD School Board on several pressing issues.
Having spoken to literally thousands of stressed-out parents about to enter the LA school system over the past decade, Tanya has inspired many to not only reconsider their public school options but also become a vital yet interconnected agent of change within them. Tanya still writes when she should be sleeping and her little preschooler is now halfway through college!
Email her at GoMama@mac.com.
About GoMamaGuide
Public schools. It’s what we do best, and what we do exclusively.
GoMamaGuide began mom-to-mom in 2006 and spread organically via word-of-mouth through area preschools, park playgrounds, libraries and local gatherings, offering public school information to confused and stressed out parents. By 2007 Tanya Anton’s first edition of The Westside Guide to Public Elementary Schools was released, by 2008 her first color-coded School Finder map launched, and GoMamaGuide established its presence within the local and online parent communities, clearly filling a need and creating a niche where there wasn’t one before.
Having helped thousands of LA parents successfully navigate their public school options through a series of guidebooks, speaking events, webinars, and consultations, sharing hands-on experience in public school revitalization, becoming an outspoken voice politically, offering radio and press commentary, Tanya Anton and GoMamaGuide continue to assist parents and explore new territories.
“For me, it’s personal,” says Anton. “I began GoMamaGuide unexpectedly while my own daughter was still in preschool, feeling very much like our public elementary school choices were grossly under-represented at the private school-heavy Kindergarten Fairs and local Parent Ed nights. As one who not only believes in public education, but who, economically-speaking, needed to find a good option for my own family, I set out to learn as much as I could and get involved early on.”
Tanya draws on her experience building community and bringing sweeping improvements to the schools she has worked with, and shares her expertise by catalyzing others into action. She has inspired many to not only reconsider their public school options but also become a vital yet interconnected agent of change within them. The first step is finding a school you can feel good about. The next step is getting involved and being part of the solution.
“My goal” Anton says, “is to share knowledge with others and shine a light on the path, as information is power and cuts a laser-like beam through the stress of the unknown. I believe that together, working on behalf of our collective children, we can inspire each other and accomplish much-needed change. I know this is true because I have already witnessed it many times over.”
GoMamaGuide 