Meet Our Pioneers | Education Pioneers

Our pioneers bring passion and dedication from many different backgrounds and put that expertise to work serving students and schools. They’ve been consultants, data-crunchers, project managers, policymakers, teachers and more. Now, they serve in critical education leadership and management roles. Read their stories.

Alexandra Bernadotte

San Francisco Bay Area

“It's an honor and a privilege to do this work and more than I hoped it could be. I am extremely grateful to Education Pioneers for supporting me from the beginning.”

Alexandra Bernadotte

San Francisco Bay Area

Lasting change takes time. It requires assembling and supporting a team of stellar staff and supporters and working together through myriad challenges. This culture of excellence and collaboration ultimately benefits our kids and teachers.

Chantavia Burton

Chantavia Burton

“This is critical behind-the-scenes work so that teachers can make magic happen in the classroom. I’m excited to be a part of this work in Memphis, a city where talented people can implement big ideas.”

Chantavia Burton

Kenyatta Andrews

“The work I do behind the scenes allows our program team—in a very real and tangible way—to focus on what they need to do for students, parents, and clergy members.”

Kenyatta Andrews

Wei-Hang Chen

“Because of the Fellowship, I’m not starting at ground zero. I gained valuable insight on how innovation grows in schools through key decision makers. It was incredibly useful for my subsequent role working in schools as part of a partner organization.”

Anna Bryant

“Teachers need support from a community of professionals with grit at all levels of leadership.”

Hassan Hassan

“My Fellowship experience was transformational. The combination of day-to-day placement work, cohort experience, and networking access is unparalleled for someone searching for their ideal point of contribution in the public education landscape."

Divya Subramanian

“I learned more about my leadership style through Education Pioneers than I did through any of my experiences in the past.”

Divya Subramanian

William Jackson

“EP gave me the on-the-ground work that my doctoral program didn’t have. My experience reinforced the path I was pursuing.”

William Jackson

Jen Kozin

Boston Metro Area

“EP is a game-changer. It can jumpstart a meaningful career in the education sector.”

Eduardo Briceño

San Francisco Bay Area

A growth mindset enables teachers to understand that they can always improve, as can all of their students, and motivates students to become active drivers of their own learning process, not only in school but in life.

Eduardo Briceño

"I like going to the district’s community meetings because I see people’s passion for education and for their kids. It motivates me to work harder to make the right decisions."

Teaching or leading a school shouldn’t be so unsupported, lonely or discouraging. We can only provide engaging, ambitious instruction that enables all students to achieve their potential if we make being a great teacher or great principal more attainable.

“EP opened doors to opportunities for high-impact, meaningful work.”

Kimberlin Butler

“The Fellowship offered a compelling opportunity to access a high-impact career in education reform and philanthropy.”

Kimberlin Butler

"Every student deserves challenging, engaging, and memorable educational experiences, supported and encouraged by teachers, parents, and the community."

Kwamara Thompson

Kwamara Thompson

"I knew that there had to be system-level changes that could make the educational system work better for teachers, and, most importantly, for students."

Kwamara Thompson

Daris McInnis, Graduate School Fellow, 2013

There is an inherent need for talent outside the classroom to help create a solid academic experience for students. The EP Fellowship provides opportunities to help ensure that every child has the opportunity for a high-quality education.

I'm a social entrepreneur on a mission to empower private and public sector leaders to catalyze sustainable change in their organizations.

Christie Imholt

Christie Imholt

“The Fellowship connected me with an amazing group of passionate and innovative thinkers in education. My peers challenged and helped me refine my views, particularly around how we build an equitable educational system for all students.”

Christie Imholt

‘Collaboration’ is the EP core value I most exemplify. With My Brother's Keeper Durham, I work with a diverse team to develop policy recommendations and strategies to ensure boys and young men of color graduate high school.

“My friends who knew of EP spoke highly of the organization and the mission. I remember thinking then, and believe it now, that EP was created for people like me—those searching for a way into the work!”

The NYC Department of Education serves 900,000 poverty-stricken youth, a statistic to which I once belonged. Thus, a sense of empathy compels me to play a robust role in optimizing the biggest education system in the U.S.

We’re developing a unique academy to enable high school students to earn a Bard College AA degree, tuition-free, alongside their high school diplomas, providing young people with a deeper immersion in college than has ever been possible in Louisiana.

“My passion is making sure that Black and Brown students get access to an equal, quality education so that they are set up for success. That led me to Education Pioneers.”

Megan Weinstein

Megan Weinstein

San Francisco Bay Area

“Education Pioneers was a great discovery. The Fellowship gave me the opportunity to transition into an impactful role.”

I’m fortunate to utilize several of EP’s core values in advancing equity and excellence for young people on a daily basis, including taking bold action to establish a system that supports thousands of families.

Mohammed Choudhury

“Urban districts are at a critical tipping point. The initiatives and commitments embarked upon in the coming years hold the potential to build model, 21st-century urban school systems that ensure an excellent education for all students.”

Mohammed Choudhury

Dowayne D. Davis

Dowayne D. Davis

“If you can be open and accept different ideas and ways of doing things, then you can learn a lot from individuals working with Education Pioneers.”

Dowayne D. Davis

“The best thing about EP was the network. I felt really comfortable reaching out to anyone in the network. I was new to Denver and didn’t have any of that network. EP put me on the map.”

Shawn McCormack

Shawn McCormack

“Coming from outside the sector, I am not sure how you would know what positions would fit your skillset without a program like EP to introduce you.”

Shawn McCormack

Claire Brown

"I am profoundly proud to work every day toward putting excellent educators and role models before our students at every level."

“I work with data because it helps educators work more intelligently. Data alone will not solve the education problem, but it is an important piece in a bigger puzzle that must be attacked from many angles.”

“I want to dismantle systems of oppression and create equity in education in an effort to create greater outcomes for students of color.”

Boston Metro Area

"The Education Pioneers Fellowship was the perfect way to make a transition from the private sector to the public sector that would set me up for success in the future.”

"I do this work for my son. I want my son to have equitable access to a high-quality education. I have the opportunity to ensure that happens for him and kids just like him regardless of where they live or what they look like."

Laura Lee McGovern

“The fact that EP is helping to attract, train, and source great talent into this talent-hungry education world is tremendous. I feel thankful and grateful that EP exists, period.”

Laura Lee McGovern