Lourdes “Lo” Linato-Crawford
Advocate and Educator
Lourdes “Lo” Linato-Crawford was born in Fort Ord, California, and grew up in San Francisco. She studied history and psychology at the University of San Francisco and received her master’s in educational psychology and counseling in 1974. She moved to Alaska after graduation, becoming a teacher with the Anchorage School District.
Lo was a mentor and advocate for her students. At times, Lo says, students, often girls, requested to be taken out of upper-level honors classes because they were the only minority in the class. Lo shared her own experiences and assured them they would succeed if they work hard. She helped establish mentorship programs connecting upperclassmen and freshman, coordinated out-of-state trips for ASD students, helped form International and YANA (You Are Not Alone) clubs, and more. Lo advocated for girls, minority, and alternative students to have the same opportunities in school and the community as all others.
Lo also became active in a number of community organizations including Bridge Builders of Anchorage, the Library Advisory Board, the Anchorage Museum, Community Connections, and the Sister Cities Commission. Lo served as board president of Bridge Builders from 2015 to 2020 and helped create new programs like the Anchorage Museum Bridge Builder Docents, Literary Bridges book club, Tradition Tuesdays and more.
In 2018, Lo retired from ASD after 44 years in education. She currently lives in Anchorage with her husband and is happy to have her kids and grandchildren nearby as well. Her advice to other #ExtraToughWomenAK and girls is:
“Do what you can to be ‘good’ in all you do. Be prepared with education or training or experiences and push yourself to excel. People will know you because of your initiative and reputation. You’ll be ready and ‘lucky’ when that ray of sun/opportunity arises and that job or career path or that adventure is offered to you.”
Special thanks to Lo Crawford for sharing her story.
Photos courtesy of Twisted Branch Photography and Lo Crawford.