In partnership with Superintendent, oversee instruction and leadership for 47 Manhattan high schools enrolling 33,000 students. Lead school visits to observe instruction and counsel principals to build on strengths and address growth areas, providing guidance around: curriculum and teaching; safety and culture: budget and operations; staffing and program; tenure review; family engagement, and supporting English learners and students with disabilities, among other issues. Conduct annual performance evaluations for District principals and provide year-round feedback to bolster leadership and ensure that principals are well positioned to implement Central office initiatives. Manage new principal hiring, including identifying right-fit candidates from principal pool, facilitating C30 Committee interviews and School Leadership Team consultations, and supporting schools through leadership transitions. Co-plan and facilitate conferences and professional learning for multiple stakeholders, including principals and assistant principals, data specialists, and student equity leaders. Oversee district-wide attendance improvement initiative and direct provision of special education services. Played critical role in pandemic response, overseeing distribution of digital devices and hotspots to students; developing and facilitating virtual workshops to advise APs and principals on digital portfolio and virtual tenure review process; managing staffing challenges; and facilitating effective remote and hybrid instruction.

Managed multiple teams to develop a strong leadership pipeline strategy from teacher leaders to system leaders. Directed recruitment and selection for all OOL programs supporting 1,800+ New York City schools serving 1.1 million students. Led redesign of DOE’s Principal Candidate Pool, which trains and assesses over 400 aspiring principals annually. Introduced new superintendent nomination process to bolster principal recruitment and candidate quality, with the number of high-potential nominees growing from 12 to 200 annually as a result. Developed and implemented a new principal selection process in collaboration with senior DOE leaders and District Superintendents, with a focus on identifying and recruiting right-fit candidates to fill vacancies in diverse city schools. Developed and implemented multiple professional learning initiatives to support leadership development, including: Mentor Principal Institute, which supported 100+ principals mentoring OOL program participants; Wallace Leadership Fellows program, a partnership with six universities to align preparation of new school leaders with DOE priorities; and Leadership Learning Series, which engaged top experts to provide professional learning for 100+ aspiring principals.

Oversaw instruction, achievement, and leadership for 10 networks comprising 275+ Pre-K-12 schools. Led cluster-wide training and implementation of new academic standards. Introduced and managed initiatives to assess and improve teacher effectiveness. Responsible for principal hiring and tenure in collaboration with Superintendents and Network Leaders. Created task force to provide high-quality, differentiated support. Planned and facilitated cluster-wide professional development for Network Leaders and their staff, including yearlong series focused on adaptive leadership, learning and teambuilding retreats, and summer institutes for instructional coaches and operations personnel. Led Principal Practice Observation (PPO) team, responsible for over 100 annual principal performance evaluations that culminated in provision of school improvement recommendations. Developed professional learning for principals focused on strengthening instruction through more effective classroom observations and feedback cycles, as well as design and delivery of targeted, quality teacher professional development. Helped principals prepare for annual school Quality Reviews, leading schoolwide instructional rounds that brought educators together to examine conditions in their schools and develop a collaborative school improvement strategy.

Led New York City high school that onsistently outperformed other NYC high schools while serving exceptionally high-need students (30% English learners, 20% special needs, nearly all low-income students of color who were years behind grade level on enrollment). Oversaw strategic planning and school operations including curriculum and instruction, budgeting, facilities, programming, discipline, youth development, and family engagement. Recruited, trained, and coached staff. Managed community partnerships. Led BSSJ to earn five consecutive “A” ratings on New York City’s school progress reports, with fewer than 30 out of 450 City high schools achieving that standard. Implemented three-year strategic plan to develop school-wide Professional Learning Community, involving entire BSSJ staff in curriculum and instructional planning to prepare for implementation of new academic standards. Redesigned professional development and observation cycle to bolster teacher effectiveness. Built collaborative school culture that yielded unusually strong teacher retention compared with peer schools.

Provided key leadership support to Principal Terry Byam, with primary oversight over school finances, budget, physical plant, and the overall business management functions of the school such as payroll, attendance, testing, and security. Supervised English and social studies departments along with youth development staff, secretaries, and school aides. Managed community partnerships and parent outreach, introducing innovative initiatives to engage families, including undocumented immigrants.

Taught English and served as English Department Chair at EBC East New York High School from 1998-2003 and at Bushwick School for Social Justice (BSSJ) from 2003-2006. Wrote proposal to co-found BSSJ, a small high school that opened in the historically underserved Bushwick Brooklyn neighborhood in East New York. Facilitated partnerships with Make the Road New York and Brooklyn College, successfully leading a school development team composed of parents, students, and community leaders through the DOE’s highly-competitive school development process. Served on leadership team and oversaw implementation of school vision before stepping into formal administrative role.

Managed arts grant program for community organizations that work with schools and youth. Assisted in the development, implementation and enaction of grant program. Co-developed interview process, applicant screening system, and selection criteria. Developed Access database.

Budget Analyst for multi-million dollar federal programs. Responsible for stewarding budget through annual budget cycle. Prepared briefings for senior leadership, CBO, and Congress.