Aria has been a passionate educator and school leader for over a decade. As a proud member of the New York City Department of Education, she held a variety roles from social studies teacher and department chair, to assessments coordinator and master scheduler. In her role as Data Specialist, Aria spent over six years aggregating and analyzing every kind of student data, creating visualizations that helped school leaders and teachers plan effective student interventions and improve graduation rates. Her belief is that by demystifying data and approaching it from a proactive and practical perspective, she can empower school leaders to implement long-lasting strategic initiatives that genuinely improve student achievement.Aria's passions for educational equity and systemic improvement through data-based strategic planning brought her to Washington, DC, where she was chosen to be an Ed Pioneers COVID Recovery Fellow, one of only 15 in the nation. During her fellowship, Aria developed and implemented easy-to-use systems at DC Preparatory Academy that removed barriers to medical care for community members and streamlined the chaos of COVID response so teachers and principals could focus on the classroom, ensuring every child had access to a quality education.Aria is now the Director of Operations at DC Prep, where her primary focus continues to be student wellness, data analytics, and operational systems.Aria is currently based in Rockville, MD. She graduated from The College of Saint Rose with a Certificate of Advanced Student in Educational Leadership and Administration, Hunter College with a Masters of Arts in Adolescent Social Studies Education, and Ithaca College with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Broadcast Journalism. Aria holds Washington D.C. and New York State certifications as a School Building Leader.