Dr. Nancy B. Gutiérrez is President & CEO 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 15,700 K–12 education leaders, transforming over 450 school systems, and accelerating learning for 11.9 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 & CEO 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.
