OUR TEAM
WHO WE ARE
School Empowerment Network (SEN) is a nonprofit organization comprised of experienced educators with a track record of success. We are dedicated to empowering local leaders to create high-performing schools centered around proven design principles, rigorous and engaging instruction, and caring relationships between students and staff. SEN’s executive team are former school founders and principals who have engineered the launch of 150 schools around the country. Today we share that expertise with school systems, partnering with districts to support the design and implementation of school resets that produce dramatic gains for underserved students.
SEN provides districts and educators with a roadmap for creating high-quality seats and significantly improving results for students. Since its launch in 2015, SEN has brought its services to partners as diverse the Education Achievement Authority and Detroit Children’s Fund in Michigan; the Texas Education Agency; the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership and Southbridge Public Schools in Massachusetts; Natchitoches Schools in Louisiana; Atlanta Public Schools, as well as the UP Education Network.
CENTRAL TEAM
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Alex has led the design and development of more than 150 new schools over the course of his 25 years in education, improving educational outcomes for 100,000+ students. Alex was the founding principal of Essex Street Academy and then served as executive director of the Office of New Schools in NYC. In 2015 Alex founded SEN to bring the successful practices developed in New York to other districts nationwide. More.
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Eduardo has more than 20 years of experience managing programs and administrative operations within large government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Previously, Eduardo served as COO for the NYC Department of Education’s Division of Portfolio Planning, where he led finance, grant management, procurement, and HR teams. Eduardo received his MBA from Yale University. More.
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
Laurie has spent over two decades creating and leading innovative, student-centered, and equitable educational experiences. Laurie joins the SEN team bringing extensive classroom teaching and school leadership experience, and a lifelong appreciation for young people and their capabilities. In her prior work, Laurie has incubated school start-ups, supported innovative instructional practices among teachers, and fostered the development of instructional and school culture leaders. More.
NORTHEAST TEAM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jess has dedicated the majority of her career in education to developing teachers. As a senior director at SEN, she designed and led the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) of Michigan’s Lead and Master Teacher Development program, for which she trained promising educators across districts in classroom and instructional leadership best practices. More.
Senior Director
Cameron has served in a variety of roles in the K-12 sector over her 23 years in education: math teacher, math coach, middle school principal, district technology curriculum coordinator, district executive director of teaching and learning, and SEA educator quality specialist. In each of these roles, she has centered her work around equity and students driving their own learning. More.
Program Director
Adam possesses more than 11 years of experience in public education. He has served as a school social worker, a dean of students, and a restorative justice coordinator. Before joining SEN, Adam served as director of high school admissions for the NYCDOE Office of Student Enrollment. Adam holds a BS in human services from St. John’s University and an MSW from New York University. More.
Program Director
Alicia has worked in public education for 17 years, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the South Bronx. During her 11 years as a principal, she dramatically increased graduation rates for all learners, implemented restorative practices, and supported teachers in developing culturally responsive instruction. Alicia is currently a Ph.D. student at Antioch University. More.
Program Director
Edna has served in diverse roles over the past 17 years, including K-12 school principal, curriculum coordinator, teacher, national restorative practices facilitator, leadership coach, advisor at an aspiring principal residency program, and leader for Equity Audits. Edna holds a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees in Psychology and Education, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. More.
PRINCIPAL COACH
Dr. Lori B. McEwen is an experienced educational leader with over 30 years in urban, suburban, and charter schools. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Boston College and is a certified executive coach. Lori has served as Assistant Superintendent in North Attleborough, MA, Chief of Instruction, Leadership, and Equity in Providence, RI, and Director of Academics at Blackstone Valley Mayoral Academy. More.
TEXAS TEAM
Executive Director
Emily is the Executive Director of Texas Programs for School Empowerment Network. In her role, Emily helps aspiring school leaders plan and launch innovative new schools which are committed to improving educational outcomes for all students. Prior to her work with SEN, Emily spent seven years as Chief Talent Officer, Deputy Chief of Talent Integration, and supporting Brave High School as Principal/Head of Schools with a small charter district in Austin. More.
Program Director
Aaronthomas is a Program Director/Planning Coach with School Empowerment Network where he provides support and coaching for aspiring school leaders as they plan & launch innovative new schools committed to improving educational outcomes for all students. A Dallas based educator, AT is committed to improving educational outcomes for underserved populations. More.
Program Director
Adrian is a first-generation college graduate dedicated to educational equity and increasing college access for underserved children. For the past 12 years, he has worked with PK-12 students and college undergraduates across Texas. During 21-22, he led programming and coaching for 13 first-year principals, of which 92% earned an A or B rating. Adrian received a master’s degree from Stanford Graduate School of Education. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Jamie has been a Texas educator for nearly 20 years. Jamie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism. After a couple of years working in media, Jamie’s desire to teach became undeniable. She pursued alternative certification and began her classroom career as a special-education teacher serving students with Autism and behavior-related disabilities. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Juan is an experienced educator with over 12 years of teaching and leadership experience. He has a proven track record of success, making significant contributions to the educational community. As Principal, Juan implemented culturally relevant performing arts programs and built strong community partnerships. Under his leadership, his middle school was recognized as one of Austin’s top 10 charter schools by U.S. News World & Report. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Freddy Gonzalez, a first-generation college graduate in Austin, TX, has been an educator since 2003. He’s worked as a teacher, principal, coach, and consultant. Recently, he led Transcend’s Institute. At KIPP, he helped open 100+ schools and supported 1,100+ leaders. His schools earned top state ratings annually. Freddy serves on education boards and holds degrees from NYU and Brown. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Matthew Frank is a longtime educator and consultant. Prior to becoming Program Director with SEN, Matthew served as a Principal and Principal Supervisor coach with TNTP in Nevada supporting tiered district teams to implement instructional leadership strategies. Before that, Mathew founded and led a high-performing dual-language & blended learning elementary campus in Austin. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Mohamad has provided instructional leadership training and hands-on coaching support for campuses covering the K-12 spectrum. Previously, Mohamad served as principal of a Blue Ribbon high school campus, where he implemented mastery grading, restorative practices, and an AP For All culture, which led to doubling the number of AP exams taken (from ~350 to ~700) while increasing the number of passing scores by 8%. More.
PRINCIPAL COACH
Katie brings seventeen years of experience in schools and districts in the Mississippi Delta, Austin, and Minneapolis. She is grateful to have served students, teachers, and families as a teacher, assistant principal, founding middle school principal, head of schools, and chief academic officer. In her most recent roles, she coached principals and system leaders in public charters in Austin and Minneapolis. More.
PRINCIPAL COACH
Michelle is a Montessori guide, parent, and school leader who has spent the last decade making Montessori education more accessible. She co-founded the first public Montessori charter school in Memphis, which has achieved high academic recognition. Michelle has also coached and developed Montessori leaders at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. In addition, she piloted public Montessori teacher preparation in Texas. More.
PRINCIPAL COACH
Meron is a Native Houstonian who has spent her educational career in Houston and overseas. She has worked as a teacher, school leader, and coaching and managing school leaders. Meron’s experience spans across both the charter and traditional school district sectors; all of her experience has been in public schools. Meron works with SEN as a planning coach. More.
PRINCIPAL COACH
Rachel is a Texas educator with 17 years in special education. She graduated from Texas Women’s University and earned a Masters in Advanced Literacy from Concordia University. Rachel taught for 7 years in Austin ISD and then worked at African Angels Independent School in South Africa. For the past 7 years, she has led Special Programs for a Texas charter network. More.
DIR. PGRM. STRATEGY
Anah boasts twenty years of experience in public education, split evenly between teaching and school administration. She notably excelled at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, starting as an assistant principal and rising to Academic Director. Before joining SEN, Anah also led the Magnolia Montessori For All school. More.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Kenia, a Program Manager at School Empowerment Network, brings over 7 years of experience in school operations and finance. In her role, she plays a crucial part in supporting school districts by overseeing the Fidelity of Implementation Tools and submissions, as well as providing operational support to the Fellowship program. More.
SCHOOL QUALITY TEAM
Executive Director
Mike has 20 years of experience working in public schools. He began his career in education at one of the first small high schools in the South Bronx, where he was an English teacher. Mike then served as assistant principal for operations and as an instructional leader at a small high school where he developed an innovative teacher/coach model and oversaw a transition to standards-based assessment. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Melinda was born and raised in New York City. She has been an educator since 1994- working in early childhood, elementary, and higher education settings. Melinda has designed and facilitated professional development for adult learners for over ten years. She is an Adjunct Instructor in Education at Rhode Island College, supporting the college’s Bilingual Cohort Model to ensure equity for all Early Childhood Educators. More.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Sasha has 20 years of experience working in public education. She was an elementary and middle school teacher for several years. Sasha spent five years as the NY Program Director of the national nonprofit Peace First, where she served as a leadership coach and teacher trainer. Sasha was the founding principal of New York City’s PS 536, which under Sasha’s leadership for seven years became one of the highest performing schools in the city. More.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Michaela has over 20 years of experience as an educator. Michaela taught third grade for more than a decade in Rhode Island. She then worked as part of a non-profit impact team, visiting hundreds of classrooms and collecting data on classroom practices. This data collection was in service of working with teachers to create more equitable outcomes and improve the educational experiences of their students. More.
OUR ADVANTAGE
SCHOOL QUALITY
Founding members of SEN oversaw the quality reviews for all 1,700 schools in New York City. Today SEN leads school quality assessment and strategic planning support for multiple districts in Massachusetts.
SCHOOL DESIGN
SEN’s CEO oversaw the launch of 121 new schools across NYC. MDRC researchers found that these schools successfully increased outcomes for students of color. SEN now leads new school design training across the state of Texas for the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
SCHOOL LEADER DEVELOPMENT
SEN has designed and led multiple programs to support emerging school leaders in developing knowledge and skills critical to effective leadership. Today SEN supports development of leaders at the Springfield Empowerment Zone by providing competency-driven coaching to teams of educators from select schools.