The Broad Center at Yale SOM Welcomes First Class of Master’s Students
The inaugural class of The Broad Master’s will convene this summer.
The Broad Center at Yale SOM’s Master’s in Public Education Management Program will launch this summer with an inaugural cohort comprising 30 outstanding emerging leaders from large, urban K-12 school districts, charter management organizations, and state education agencies who have demonstrated a commitment to continuing their learning and growth. Through this 14-month program, students in The Broad Master’s will engage in rigorous coursework, participate in colloquia where they will hear from leading practitioners in the field, consider equity in theory and action, and engage in deep reflection, and complete an independent study capstone project that applies what they learn in the classroom to a current issue or challenge in their school systems.
The Broad Master’s is designed to support emerging leaders in increasing their impact in their current roles and accelerate their future leadership trajectories, allowing them to earn a Master’s of Management Studies while continuing to work full-time in K-12 school systems. For leaders’ school systems, The Broad Master’s represents an opportunity to recognize and demonstrate a commitment to developing internal talent pipelines and individuals with extraordinary leadership potential.
Meet The Broad Master’s Students
Biographies provided by students.
Emily Allegrotti
Director of New Leader Programming & Support, KIPP D.C.
As director of new leader programming and support at KIPP D.C., Emily Allegrotti is responsible for planning and facilitating programming and coaching for new deans, coaches, and vice principals across KIPP D.C.’s 21 schools. Prior to this role, she worked as a teacher and vice principal at KIPP D.C. LEAP and then KIPP D.C. Promise Academy, a National Blue Ribbon School in Ward 7 in Washington, D.C. Allegrotti worked as a community organizer before beginning her career in education.
Brendan Campbell
Chief of Staff, Uncommon Schools, Brooklyn, New York
Brendan Campbell is the chief of staff to the chief schools officer and supports a variety of teams at Uncommon Schools, including the high school instructional and curriculum teams, the College Access and Success team, the Experiential Learning Team, and the K-12 Content Development team. Before this, he was a founding staff member and co-leader at Uncommon Preparatory Charter High School in Brooklyn. Originally from Michigan, Campbell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and was a high school history teacher at Southeastern High School in Detroit before joining Uncommon.
Brian Darrow
Chief Strategy Officer, Rhode Island Department of Education
As the chief strategy officer for the Rhode Island Department of Education, Brian Darrow serves at the strategic intersection of strategy, policy, and funding to help reimagine education for Rhode Island’s 140,000 students, with a special focus on supporting the state turnaround efforts for the Providence Public School District. Prior to this role, Darrow held a variety of senior leadership roles at state education agencies, including formerly serving as the chief of staff for the Rhode Island Department of Education and the executive director of portfolio for the Louisiana Department of Education. He started his career in education as a high school math teacher in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana.
Lisandra Flores
Director of School Operations, Citizens of the World Charter Schools, Los Angeles, California
Lisandra Flores is currently the director of school operations at Citizens of the World Charter Schools, Los Angeles, where she has streamlined operations systems and supported the founding of two new elementary schools in the San Fernando Valley. Before joining CWC LA, she served as senior regional business operations manager at KIPP SoCal Public Schools.
Luke Hostetter
Director of Strategic Planning, Richmond Public Schools, Virginia
Luke Hostetter serves as director of strategic planning at Richmond Public Schools in Virginia. He leads the team responsible for enrollment and school applications, as well as ensuring those processes inform equitable allocation of resources across the division. Before joining Richmond Public Schools, he held strategy and operations roles with District of Columbia Public Schools in their Office of Instructional Practice.
Jessica Leonard
Senior Director of Career & Technical Education, KIPP Texas Public Schools, Houston, Texas
As the senior director of career and technical education at KIPP Texas Public Schools in Houston, Texas, Jessica Leonard plans and implements secondary career and technical education programming at schools in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin. Prior to her current role, she served as manager of career and technical education at KIPP Texas. Leonard began her career as a 7th-grade science teacher with the Houston Independent School District.
Stephanie Lowenthal-Savy
Associate Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, KIPP NorCal Public Schools, Oakland, California
Stephanie currently serves as the Associate Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at KIPP NorCal Public Schools. In this role, she advises school leadership on financial strategy, oversees the development and implementation of regional and school budgets, and leads compensation for all staff. Prior to joining KIPP NorCal, she taught in public schools (Oakland Unified) and charter schools (Denver Schools of Science and Technology, SOAR Denver).
Shannon Moody
Chief Strategy Officer, Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee
Shannon Moody serves as the chief strategy officer at Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she works to support students and educational leaders in developing strong systems and structures, rooted in research and evaluation, to help create environments that allow for all students to thrive. Prior to her current role, Moody worked in educational data departments at the state, district, and educational nonprofit levels. She began her career as an elementary special education teacher with Atlanta Public Schools in Atlanta, Georgia.
Caitlin Richard
Director of District Strategy and Implementation, Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma
As director of district strategy and implementation for Tulsa Public Schools, Caitlin Richard supports strategic resource use decision-making to accelerate student outcomes. Prior to her role at Tulsa Public Schools, she was an associate at Education Resource Strategies, where she supported large, urban districts to thoughtfully and equitably allocate resources.
Icela Santiago
Director of Operations and Strategy, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, California
As director of operations and strategy at the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Icela Santiago is responsible for leading a team that supports 20 LAUSD schools in building and refining operational systems that maximize efficiency while prioritizing equity in service of student achievement. She works alongside school and community leaders to advocate at the district level to remove barriers and increase the equitable distribution of resources to schools.
Sharicca Boldon
Acting Director of Strategy and Compliance-Operations, Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland
Sharicca Boldon is committed to developing strategies, systems, and organizational cultures that enable youth-serving organizations to disrupt patterns of inequity. She is the acting director of strategy and compliance for operations at Baltimore City Public Schools and sees improvement science as a key tool to activate meaningful and sustainable change across the social sector. Prior to working in education, she worked in engineering, business, and operations management roles at Procter and Gamble and AOL. As a self-dubbed “education engineer,” Boldon combines her business and engineering experience with her passion for helping students, families, and communities achieve their desired outcomes. She resides with her family in Baltimore.
Nathifa Carmichael
Assistant Director of Policy and External Affairs, Georgia Department of Education
As the assistant director of policy and external Affairs at the Georgia Department of Education, Nathifa Carmichael ensures education stakeholders effectively implement policies that support students and staff throughout the state. Prior to her role at the Department of Education, she served in school and district leadership roles in several systems in Georgia. Carmichael has also consulted with state and local agencies across the country to advance innovative human capital solutions for educators. She began her career as a high school English teacher after graduating from Emory University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Zabrina Evans
Director of School Quality & Support, Chicago Public Schools, Illinois
Zabrina Evans began her career as a school leader with Banner Learning Academy Alternative Learning Opportunity Program, gaining unparalleled experience in serving and creating policies for students who were uncredited and off-track towards graduation. Evans is currently the director of school quality and support within the Office of Innovation and Incubation at Chicago Public Schools, managing a portfolio of 131 charter, contract, and option schools and programs. She ensures that approximately 60,000 students receive access to a world-class learning experience, preparing each for success in college and career.
Ashleigh Fritz
Head of Schools, YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas
Ashleigh Fritz joined YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, Texas, as a founding staff member at YES Prep West Secondary in 2009, after serving two years in Alief ISD as a Teach For America corps member. She donned many roles during her tenure at YES Prep, including those of teacher, dean, and principal. In 2019, Fritz became a head of schools, where she coaches principals to help them achieve academic excellence and create an inclusive and innovative school culture.
Alvincent Hutson
Territorial Legal Counsel, Virgin Islands Department of Education
Alvincent Hutson is the territorial legal counsel for the Virgin Islands Department of Education. He advises the commissioner of education and provides legal, policy, and strategic direction for the department to best serve its 28 schools with 12,000 students (across three islands). He began his career as a classroom teacher and a youth outreach director at the YMCA.
Tia Leone
Senior Director of Regional Growth Projects, KIPP Texas Public Schools, Dallas, Texas
Tia Leone is entering her 10th year in public education after starting her career as an elementary teacher with Teach For America and KIPP Houston. She currently works as a senior director of regional growth projects for KIPP Texas Public Schools. Her current responsibilities include leading and project managing the completion of feeder patterns and relocation projects, and setting recommendations for strategic planning for the statewide charter network.
Tonya S. McIntyre
District Program Manager, Charleston County School District, South Carolina
Tonya S. McIntyre works as the Charleston County School District’s Acceleration Schools teacher recruitment and retention coordinator to ensure that the district’s most vulnerable schools have the talented teachers they need for children and families to thrive by providing talent management support that focuses on recruiting, hiring, and retaining high-quality, effective, and diverse educators in every classroom. McIntyre has more than two decades of experience as a dedicated high school mathematics teacher, where she prioritized equity and opportunity that met students’ academic, social, and cultural needs.
Nathan Morris
Director of Facilities, KIPP D.C.
As the director of facilities at KIPP D.C. in Washington, D.C., Nathan Morris focuses on delivering safe and nurturing built learning environments that empower students, educators, and communities to thrive. Prior to working at KIPP D.C., he served in various roles for the facilities division at D.C. Public Schools. Morris began his education career as an EFL teacher in South Korea and Togo.
Maggie Riddell
Director of Portfolio, New Orleans Public Schools, Louisiana
Maggie Riddell serves as the director of portfolio at New Orleans Public Schools, the only 100% public charter system in the country. She works with school teams and families to ensure the unified enrollment system provides fair and equal access to schools across the city for every student, from birth through graduation. Prior to her role at NOLA-PS, Riddell was the director of strategic projects at Boston Public Schools and started an organization empowering educators to transform schools using design thinking. She began her career teaching high school English in St. John the Baptist parish in Louisiana.
Rob Sgobbo
Assistant Superintendent, Uncommon Schools, Brooklyn, New York
Rob Sgobbo is an assistant superintendent with Uncommon Schools in New York City, where is a principal manager for a portfolio of elementary and middle schools and serves as a regional leader supporting the organization’s 23 schools in Brooklyn. Sgobbo joined Uncommon Schools in 2011 as a special education coordinator and elementary school teacher and, in 2016, became the founding principal of Kings Elementary School, a K-4 school in Brooklyn. Prior to joining Uncommon Schools, he was a 2007 Teach For America Corps Member, where he taught at PS 42 in the South Bronx.
Victoria Bredt
Director, Communications and Field Support, New York City Department of Education
As a director on the Teacher Preparation, Policy, and Systems team in the Division of Teaching and Learning Opportunities for NYC Public Schools, Bredt coordinates teacher evaluation policy and builds innovative approaches to educator recruitment and clinical practice. She began her career in education as a founding elementary school teacher at Leadership Prep Brownsville, part of the Uncommon Schools charter network, in Brooklyn, New York.
Brandon Cummings
Director, Leadership Development, School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Brandon Cummings has worked in education for nearly 17 years and is committed to public education because he believes that education is a civil right of every child.
Linda Faber
Executive Director, Student & Operational Systems, School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Linda Faber serves as the executive director of student and operational systems at the School District of Philadelphia, where she leads the alignment of critical IT solutions with the district’s academic and operational goals. Prior to her current role, Faber held positions in the School District and Philadelphia’s charter sector, all focused on data and systems integration. She holds an A.M. in urban education policy from Brown University and a B.A. in mathematics and economics from the University of Rochester.
Shonterrio Harris
Manager of Equity Advancement, Indianapolis Public Schools, Indiana
As the manager of equity advancement at Indianapolis Public Schools, Shonterrio Harris leads the strategic execution of the district’s racial equity initiatives. He has also served the district in multiple capacities, formerly as special assistant to the governance team and as a 4th-grade teacher at Ralph Waldo Emerson School 58 and Avondale Meadows Academy.
Tera Jones
Senior Manager, District Strategy, Denver Public Schools, Colorado
Tera Jones serves as a strategic advisor to district leadership on implementation of teaching and learning strategy at Denver Public Schools. She has committed her professional career to racial justice and educational equity as a teacher and Teach for America corps member in a Denver charter school, roles in teacher recruitment and student-to-teacher pipeline development, and as an elementary school dean. She loves baking and learning Korean in her free time.
Michael Lowe
Director of Equity and Access, Memphis City/Shelby County Schools, Tennessee
As the director of equity and access in Memphis City/Shelby County Schools (MCSCS), Michael Lowe works alongside instructional leaders to think systemically but act locally on behalf of the historically underserved scholars of Memphis, Tennessee. An equity walkthrough tool has been embraced and used through his equity work to develop teachers and create a sense of belonging for all. Prior to his role as director of equity and access, Lowe served as director of leadership development for MCSCS. He began his career as a 5th-grade mathematics teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, with Shelby County Schools.
Jesse Melgares
Vice President of Teaching & Learning, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, Los Angeles, California
As the vice president of teaching and learning at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles, Jesse Melgares and his team work to help translate the science of learning into classroom practices across the system through curricular supports, assessments, instructional blocks, coaching, and PDs. Prior to his role, Melgares served in a variety of capacities including a teacher, school administrator, and a director of math.
Mary Nash-Wood
Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, Caddo Parish Public Schools, Shreveport, Louisiana
As the executive director of strategic initiatives for Caddo Parish Public Schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mary Nash-Wood oversees the district's strategic planning and special projects designed to address the diverse needs of students. Prior to her latest role, she served as the district’s director of communications, where one of her primary roles was highlighting the high-quality work done around urban education and providing equity and opportunity for all children. Nash-Wood began her career as an investigative reporter with the USA Today network, covering public education with a focus on disparities facing thousands of children.
Randy Romero
Vice President of School Transformation, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, California
As senior vice president of school transformation, secondary schools for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Randy Romero directly works with schools to ensure they are liberating and empowering forces in their community. Romero has also served as a principal across grades 6 through 12 for nearly a decade. He is a proud product of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Aron Walker III
Managing Director of School Operations, KIPP New Orleans Schools, Louisiana
Aron Walker III is the managing director of school operations at KIPP New Orleans Schools. Walker oversees school site operations, compliance, facilities, risk management, procurement, and financial management for 13 schools spanning grades PK4 through 12. Prior to joining KIPP New Orleans Schools, he was the program manager at Genesys Work, a nonprofit that provides low-income high school seniors with internships at Fortune 500 companies. He also previously worked as a college administrator and an academic counselor with Upward Bound. Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Southeastern Louisiana University and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Sam Houston State University. He is the proud father of two sons, Jacob and Cameron.