Honoring the Life and Legacy of Ambassador Frank Baxter
A Beloved Founder, Fearless Leader, and Lifelong Champion for Scholars
July 23, 2025
It is with heavy hearts and immense gratitude that we remember Ambassador Frank Baxter, one of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools’ most beloved and visionary founders, whose recent passing leaves a profound void in our community and in public education across Los Angeles.
From the earliest days as one of Alliance’s trailblazing founders to his continued involvement on the Alliance Foundation Board, Frank brought an unshakable belief in what was possible.
He blended passion and intellect with overflowing humility, making everyone he encountered feel valued. A man of action and imagination, he carried a twinkle of mischief in his eye and a fearless commitment to making life better for others. He had an extraordinary ability to work across lines of difference and to form authentic connections spanning race, class, and politics. In every sense of the word, he was an ambassador—of hope, of possibility, and of what it means to live a life of service.
Frank’s impact on the Alliance community is profound and singular.
“Many individuals contributed to the success of the Alliance over the years, but I can tell you, as a matter of fact, that there would not have been an Alliance if not for Frank Baxter,” said friend and Alliance Co-Founder Virgil Roberts.
Frank recruited many of our early board members, made sure our founding staff were paid, and introduced everyone he knew to the Alliance, inviting them to join him in realizing Alliance’s mission of creating consistently excellent world-class public schools across Los Angeles.
He was also the driving force behind bold initiatives like blended learning and ensuring every scholar had a laptop long before the digital divide became a national conversation. He visited schools regularly, and knew staff and scholars by name, honoring their stories, hopes, and dreams. In the trenches to the very end, he ran the LA Marathon alongside Alliance scholars on his 80th birthday and continued attending board meetings as recently as this year.
As Alliance Foundation Board Co-Chair Brett Brewer shared, “Frank was the most optimistic person I’ve ever worked with. He refused to accept subpar outcomes for students across California and was willing to leverage everything, from new technologies to political relationships, to improve them. His legacy to me was that we have to do better by these kids. And we can!”
Frank’s unrelenting passion for ensuring all young people, especially marginalized students, had access to quality public education stemmed, in part, from his own experience. Raised in a low-income household, he worked in the fields picking lettuce as a teen to support his family. The oldest of six and the first to go to college, he proudly graduated from UC Berkeley and credited his mother, who had to drop out of high school to work, with instilling the value of education in her children. That experience fueled his advocacy over four decades and positioned Alliance at the center of his life’s work.
Frank’s distinguished career included serving as CEO and Chairman of Jefferies & Company investment bank, as well as serving on numerous nonprofit boards that strengthen cultural and civic life. In 2006, he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay and has been recognized by dozens of nonprofits and dignitaries across the nation.
But it was here, in Los Angeles classrooms, in conversations with families, and in the faces of thousands of scholars, that his most enduring legacy lives on.
Frank was a force—an innovator with a fierce commitment to equity. He brought a sense of urgency to our work, constantly challenging us to think bigger and act bolder on behalf of our scholars. As a fellow UC Berkeley alum and the first in my family to attend college, I feel profound gratitude for Frank’s vision and foresight. He believed in the potential of young people like me, and in doing so, helped transform the lives of an entire generation.
He often closed meetings with, “Thank you for your service.” Today, we echo those words back to him.
Whether you had the privilege of knowing him or simply benefited from the impact of his leadership, we invite you to join us in honoring his legacy by continuing the work he loved.
May we carry his torch forward with the same courage, conviction, and compassion that defined his life.
Thank you, our dearest Frank. For everything.
Memorial Gifts and Service Information
The Baxter Family has privately shared memorial service information and asked that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Alliance Foundation and the ALS Foundation to honor Frank’s memory. To donate to the Alliance Foundation, please click here. The family will be notified of your generosity.
