It is often stated that education is the civil rights issue of our time. While there are many aspects related to equity in education that need to be addressed, a particular area of concern for NewSchools is the lack of racial diversity in leadership roles representing the very communities we serve. In a step toward change, NewSchools is pleased to be working with Carmita Vaughan on a leadership accelerator to identify, train and provide career counsel to emerging leaders of color in the education reform movement. To launch Carmita on this important project, NewSchools has awarded a Business Planning Grant to help give Carmita the support she needs while developing a business plan. As Carmita told us, “This is a necessary first step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring communities of color are invested in and have shared ownership of the reforms being made to improve the quality of education for their children.”

Ultimately, this leadership accelerator will strengthen the pipeline of racially diverse leadership talent and ensure a next generation of trailblazers who represent the populations that education reform and equality efforts seek to serve.

Carmita brings tremendous passion and enthusiasm to this work and is uniquely positioned to take the lead. Carmita has a track record of success and results throughout a diverse and broad-based professional background, including leadership positions in both education and business. She was Chief of Staff of High Schools at Chicago Public Schools under Secretary Arne Duncan. She served as Chief Strategy Officer for America’s Promise Alliance where she led efforts to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth working specifically on Alliance’s Dropout Prevention Summits. Earlier, Carmita served in global marketing, strategic planning, and engineering/operations management roles in several Fortune 500 companies, including Procter and Gamble, and Danaher Corporation.

“We are pleased to support Carmita’s efforts to bring this work to life and look forward to the amazing impact this will most certainly have on the field,” said Deborah McGriff, NewSchools Managing Director.