Ray Reduque is in Seattle Teacher Residency’s 13th cohort, coming to teaching after a career in corporate law and pro bono work supporting schools. Now a teacher resident in Seattle Public Schools, Ray brings a deep commitment to representation, equity, and public education to his fourth-grade classroom.
Ray Reduque is currently a resident with the Seattle Teacher Residency throughout the 2025-26 school year. His path to the classroom was shaped by both professional experience and a deep commitment to equity in public education. After spending years as a corporate lawyer, Ray found his calling through pro bono work supporting schools and students that ultimately led him to pursue teaching. We sat down with Ray to ask about his ‘why’ for teaching. He brings a unique perspective to his fourth-grade classroom that is grounded in lived experience, representation and a belief in the transformative power of public education. Get to know Ray:
Why did you decide to take part in the program?
I knew that the Seattle Teacher Residency program would get me into the classroom faster than a normal graduate school program. As someone who has already done graduate school once before, it was a priority for me to finish my graduate-school requirements – and start teaching in a classroom – as quickly as possible.
Before beginning the program, what role(s) did you hold or continue to hold?
I was a corporate lawyer for a number of years at two large global law firms. I fell in love with education through my pro bono work, where I served on the boards of trustees of two independent schools and the governing body of one public elementary school.
How has being part of the program contributed to your life?
The best part of the program is being able to work with my class of bright and talented fourth graders every day at my placement school. I feel that’s something unique to residency programs – you quickly find yourself immersed in a real-world public school classroom, spending time seeing and actually doing the job, rather than simply reading about it in a textbook.
What does teaching mean to you?
As a Filipino American and a product of public schools myself, when I practiced corporate law, I would sit in these office conferences rooms with other lawyers and Fortune 500 business executives and realize that I was the only person who looked like me – and went to public school – in the room. Teaching, to me, means an opportunity to help change that dynamic – to teach public school students of color who remind me of me, so that more people who look like us are in those same conference rooms one day.
What are you looking forward to most upon completion?
I imagine this is a popular answer for teacher residents: having my own classroom.
Learn more about the Seattle Teacher Residency and make a gift to support future educators like Matt.