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, district, and system 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 system 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 tri-state area.
