Diana Maldonado is the founder of Candidate School, a national leadership development platform preparing first-time candidates to run, win, and lead with confidence, preparation, and integrity.

​

A former Texas State Representative and school board trustee, Diana knows firsthand what it takes to step into public service before you feel fully ready. As a first-time candidate, she ran for office as a single mother, challenged expectations, and became the first Latina to represent her district in the Texas House of Representatives. Her journey from unlikely candidate to elected official is the foundation of Candidate School’s mission: to help high-potential leaders see themselves as prepared, credible, and capable of serving their communities.

​

Diana brings more than two decades of public sector, civic, and leadership experience to her work. She has served in elected office, led in education governance, worked across state government, and built trusted relationships with leaders, organizations, and communities across Texas and beyond. Her approach to candidate development goes beyond campaign tactics. She believes strong candidates need personal clarity, leadership readiness, practical preparation, and the resilience to sustain themselves through the demands of public life.

​

Through Candidate School, Diana is building a national leadership pipeline for first-time local candidates — the leaders running for school board, city council, county office, municipal office, and other roles that shape everyday life in communities across the country. Candidate School helps candidates understand not only how to run, but who they are becoming as they step into public leadership.

​

Candidate School expands its impact by supporting leading organizations that are preparing for the next generation of advocacy and public leadership. Through customized e-learning, curriculum design, and leadership development partnerships, Candidate School helps organizations strengthen their capacity, engage their members, and equip future public leaders with the confidence, preparation, and integrity needed to step into service.

​

Diana is also the author of The Unlikely Candidate: Breaking Barriers to Elected Office and Beyond, a bestselling book rooted in her own experience of running, winning, serving, and becoming the kind of leader she once needed to see. Her story continues to inspire candidates, women leaders, Latinas, and everyday community advocates who are considering public service but may not yet see themselves as ready.

​

A marathon runner, outdoor enthusiast, and lifelong believer in resilience, Diana brings the same endurance mindset to leadership that she has carried through races and hiking expeditions around the world. She understands that running for public office is not only a campaign journey — it is a personal leadership journey.

​

Candidate School was created for the leaders who are already serving their communities ann deserve the support to lead differently.