ABOUT

Tramelle Howard is an educator, community advocate and a deep believer in the urgent need to advance equity in all of its forms across every context.  

Tramelle was raised by a single mother who, despite never attending college, embodied and demonstrated the transformative power of hard work and commitment—working multiple jobs to ensure the family had what it needed. 

Similarly, his maternal grandfather, who attended school only until 9th grade, instilled in Tramelle and his siblings an unyielding belief that education can change and save lives.  Tramelle credits that commitment to education for saving his life, helping to lift him and his siblings from poverty and build successful careers.

A Baton Rouge native, in 2018, Tramelle became the youngest person ever elected to the East Baton Rouge (“EBR”) Parish School Board. Shortly after taking office, he was installed by his fellow members as Vice President of the Board. 

As Vice President of the EBR School Board, he has been a champion for disadvantaged students and led the creation and adoption of EBR’s first charter school accountability policy—ensuring that schools are first and foremost serving the best interests of students and that  students receive a quality education. 

Tramelle began his professional journey in education as an eighth-grade history teacher, serving with Teach for America South Louisiana after graduating with a Juris Doctor degree from Southern University Law Center. 

It was while working in the Law Center’s student family law clinic that his belief in the primacy of education in shaping life trajectories was reaffirmed.  There, his clients were largely children of color facing financial hardship and trauma and bearing the weight of the failures of an inequitable public education system. 

He saw in the faces and spirit of those young people the potential of hope amidst deprivation and struggle.  He also heard the calling to do more—to work to empower young people facing the most barriers to success and ensure all students have access to a high-quality education.  

Tramelle is currently the Louisiana External Relations and Policy Manager for Education Trust, a national nonprofit that works to close opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income families. In that role, Tramelle is responsible for managing coalition work, policy implementation and building community partnerships across the state.