OUR STORY

Dr. Nancy B. Gutiérrez is President & Lead Executive Officer of The Leadership Academy, guiding the education nonprofit’s strategic direction and long-term growth. Under her leadership, the organization has gained national prominence, strengthening more than 15,000 K–12 education leaders, transforming over 430 school systems, and accelerating learning for 11.5 million students and counting.

A proud daughter of East San José, California, Nancy began her career as a teacher and principal in her home community. She founded Renaissance Academy, which became a California Distinguished School and the highest-performing school in the district. She also led the turnaround of the district’s lowest-performing middle school—the same school her mother had once attended. Her impact earned her the honor of California’s Middle Grades Principal of the Year. She later joined New York City Public Schools, leading an initiative to retain high-performing principals and helping them earn superintendent certification.

She joined The Leadership Academy in 2014, quickly becoming known for her dynamic presence, masterful facilitation, and exceptional coaching abilities with senior education leaders and their teams. Named President & Lead Executive Officer in 2018, she’s led exponential growth and impact, with The Leadership Academy’s work supporting educators in 41 states and Washington, D.C.

Recognized as a 2025 ASU+GSV “Innovator of Color,” one of City & State’s “100 Most Influential Education Leaders in New York,” a University of California, Davis “Rising Star,” and a San José State University “Distinguished Alumna,” Nancy is also a 2019 Pahara Fellow.

She co-authored “Stay and Prevail” (2023), highlighting the impact of education leaders investing in their home communities, and “Coaching Education Leaders” (2024), which shares The Leadership Academy’s groundbreaking coaching model. She is a frequent keynote speaker and her thought leadership has been featured in Education Week, Kappan, The74, and Hechinger Report.

Nancy holds a Doctor of Education Leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, and is also a graduate of San José State University, UC Davis, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. She’s a faculty member at Columbia University’s Teachers College Summer Principals Academy and a former NYU adjunct professor and Harvard Principals’ Center expert guest.

She chairs the board of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and serves on the boards of The Hunt Institute, brightbeam, and The Neurodiversity Alliance.

Follow Nancy on LinkedIn.

As the Executive Director of Programs, Dr. David Baiz serves on The Leadership Academy’s Executive Leadership Cabinet, and oversees the organization’s work with leaders in K–12 schools, districts, and systems nationwide. With more than 20 years of education experience, he leads the teams that design and deliver programs and coaching, ensuring that professional learning empowers education leaders to cultivate thriving teams, engaged students, and resilient school communities. David also continues to facilitate client engagements and has worked with school and district leaders across more than a dozen states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, and Texas.

A champion of continuous growth, David drives internal learning for facilitators, coaches, and project managers, drawing on emerging best practices and helping staff bring innovative approaches to their work with school and district leaders. He joined The Leadership Academy in 2020 as a National Designer & Facilitator, after a career as an award-winning math teacher and later, principal.

David was previously principal of Global Tech Prep Middle School in East Harlem, New York. During his tenure, students experienced marked academic growth and the school earned praise for positive school culture, teacher effectiveness, and parent satisfaction. David also previously completed a doctoral residency with the College Board, where he led the expansion of two new AP courses to high schools across the country. Before starting his career in education, David was an Americorps member in New Orleans, focused on disaster relief post-Hurricane Katrina. He received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work.

He holds a Doctor of Education Leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. He also holds a Master of Education Leadership from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education and a Master of Science in Education with a Mathematics concentration from the City College of New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies from The Ohio State University. David is based in New York City.

As Executive Director of Business Development, Communications, and Finance, Mary Jo Dunnington serves on The Leadership Academy’s Executive Leadership Cabinet and is responsible for the teams leading sales strategy and client cultivation, communications and marketing, and finance. Her work aligns mission and resources, bridging external growth strategies with internal financial stewardship, to ensure the organization is offering services that meet the evolving needs of education leaders across the country. With a focus on fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability, she also manages budgeting, financial planning, and oversees accounting systems.

Mary Jo first joined the organization in 2011 as Vice President of National Initiatives, a role where she was tasked with growing The Leadership Academy’s footprint from its New York City origins. She helped expand the organization’s work into 20 new states, and to transform into a national provider of high-quality professional learning and coaching. Her connection to the organization began well before she was a member of the team: she was previously the Chief Operating Officer for the Partnership for New York City, which led the initial fundraising campaign that helped to launch The Leadership Academy.

Her leadership experience in education includes time as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit that provided training and tools for educators based on the unique ways that people learn. In her early career she developed and implemented teacher training and outreach programs and facilitated the development of teacher leadership networks for the National Geographic Society. She’s also served a mentor to students at the Young Women’s Leadership School in Harlem and the Higher Achievement Program in Washington, D.C.

Mary Jo holds a Master of Arts in Education and a Master of Business Administration, both from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also earned a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University. Mary Jo is based in Durham, North Carolina.

As the Executive Director of Learning & Strategy, Michelle Jarney is a member of The Leadership Academy’s Executive Cabinet and focuses on helping the organization learn from its work and strengthen effectiveness both internally and with school and district leaders. She oversees teams that work on research, evaluation, and impact, project management and internal learning, human resources, and technology. She also leads the grants and philanthropy team, partnering with foundations and other mission-aligned funders that share the organization’s belief in leadership as a lever for change.

Michelle helped to develop The Leadership Academy’s groundbreaking coaching model and is one of the co-authors of The Leadership Academy’s first book, “Coaching Education Leaders.” She continues to coach education leaders today and also facilitates engagements with school and district leaders, drawing from her extensive experience as a curriculum designer to build professional learning that champions leaders’ growth and helps them reach their goals. She’s worked with education leaders in more than 20 states.

She first joined The Leadership Academy in 2004, just one year after the organization was established. Over the course of her more than twenty-year career, she’s held roles where she oversaw coaching, led the expansion of coaching services nationwide, and led professional learning and coaching to specifically support new principals.

Prior to her work with The Leadership Academy, Michelle was the Director of Education for the Union Square Partnership. There, she developed an award-winning, public-private partnership that helped support New York City Public School students with innovative enrichment programs and career readiness opportunities. Her early career in education also includes time at The Dalton School and the Children’s Television Workshop.

Michelle holds a Master of Arts in Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. She is also a graduate of Union College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Spanish. She is based in the New York City tri-state area.

With nearly two decades of education experience in the classroom, as a school leader, and at nonprofits, Dr. Anthony King serves on The Leadership Academy’s Executive Leadership Cabinet as Executive Director of External Engagement. He forges partnerships and engages with nonprofits, funders, and sector leaders to advance The Leadership Academy’s work and impact. In addition to supporting business development and fundraising, he stays connected to education leaders’ needs by facilitating professional learning and coaching. Since joining The Leadership Academy in 2022, he’s worked closely with school and district leaders in Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Texas and more.

Previously, Anthony served as the Director of Continuous Improvement at the Sonoma County Office of Education in Santa Rosa, California. There, he supported school districts in advancing their improvement efforts and developing impactful Local Control and Accountability Plans. He also led the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy across five counties, focused on developing school leaders at every level of the education system. Prior to that, he worked in education policy and strategy as the Director of Strategic Leadership and Inclusion at Education First.

Anthony began his career as a third-grade teacher. After redesigning and implementing a targeted plan to improve student outcomes in English language arts and math—and seeing measurable gains on state assessments—he was inspired to expand his impact to school leadership roles, first as an assistant principal and then as a building principal.

He holds a Doctor of Education Leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and an Education Specialist of Administration with an emphasis in Elementary Administration from the University of Central Missouri. He’s also a two-time graduate of the University of Missouri, where he earned a Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphases in Math, Physics, and Black Studies. Anthony is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.