Thomas Ray Garcia is an educator, author, and entrepreneur from Pharr, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. He is running for the State Board of Education in the Democratic primary on March 3rd, 2026.

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Throughout his 12 years of experience in K-12 and higher education, Thomas has taught in the classroom and spearheaded programs focused on college readiness and family engagement.

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 At age 19, Thomas founded the College Scholarship Leadership Access Program. As of 2025, CSLAP has directly impacted more than 2,000 students. As a high school teacher, Thomas developed and taught lessons on critical writing, college readiness, and service learning. As a college professor, Thomas provides his students the guidance he once needed as a first-generation college student from a single-parent household.