Chicago, Ill. (April 14, 2025) – As school systems across the country navigate rapid change from evolving workforce demands to the growing role of artificial intelligence, national nonprofit Leading Educators is evolving its leadership structure to meet a new phase of growth, complexity, and opportunity.
Today, the organization announced that Karolyn Belcher will serve as President, a newly established role designed to strengthen execution, deepen organizational coherence, and expand the organization’s ability to deliver sustained impact for students and educators nationwide. She takes on this role after serving as the organization’s first Chief Growth Officer.
This shift marks an intentional investment in the future. As Leading Educators continues to grow its impact and range of services, it is building the leadership capacity and infrastructure needed to match its ambition: aligning systems for coherence, strengthening teaching at scale, and advancing new models of learning that prepare students for what comes next.
“This is a moment of both urgency and possibility in education,” said Chong-Hao Fu, CEO of Leading Educators. “We are evolving from a position of strength—grounded in proven impact and trusted partnerships—to ensure we can meet the scale and complexity of what comes next. Karolyn is the leader who will help us translate that vision into results for the systems and students we serve.”
A Leadership Model for the Next Chapter
The introduction of the President role reflects a deliberate evolution in how Leading Educators operates, moving local ecosystems beyond incremental improvement. The next era of learning calls for systems that can continuously learn, adapt, and improve so that every student can thrive today and in a future we can’t yet fully imagine.
As CEO, Fu will focus on long-term strategy, innovation, and shaping the future of teaching and learning within cross-sector coalitions.
As President, Belcher will lead execution across the organization’s current and near-term priorities—overseeing programs, growth, and operations to ensure that strategy is realized in coherent, high-quality implementation at scale.
Together, this leadership structure enables Leading Educators to do both essential things at once: deliver on what works today while building what comes next. For district, network, and state partners, this evolution strengthens Leading Educators’ ability to provide coherent, reliable, and sustained support in a complex and changing landscape.
A Proven Leader for This Moment
Karolyn Belcher brings deep experience leading both school systems and national nonprofit growth strategies.
Before joining Leading Educators, she served as the interim Superintendent at Achievement First, a nationally recognized charter network of over 40 schools in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island, and as the Chief Academic Officer at Charleston County School District (CCSD). While at CCSD, she initiated large-scale instructional improvement efforts in one of the nation’s most complex school systems, positioning students to post significant gains on NAEP between 2019 and 2024, despite pandemic disruptions. Before that, she was the President of TNTP, guiding the organization through a period of remarkable growth that expanded its reach sixfold.
Since joining Leading Educators as Chief Growth Officer, Belcher has played a central role in expanding the organization’s reach and strengthening its partnerships nationwide.
“What inspires me most about this role is the opportunity to deepen our partnerships with school systems at a time when the work feels both more complex and more important than ever,” shared Belcher. “I believe deeply in the power of educators—and in the importance of building systems that support them consistently and coherently. I’m excited to continue working alongside our partners to strengthen teaching, support leaders, and expand what is possible for every student.”
Positioned for the Future
Belcher’s appointment comes as Leading Educators enters its next phase—focused on helping school systems not only improve what exists today, but also design what teaching and learning must become.
By strengthening its ability to execute with clarity and coherence, the organization is building toward a future where excellent teaching is not the exception, but the norm—and where both students and educators are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
“Our goal is not just to grow, but to grow in ways that matter,” Fu added. “With Karolyn as President, we are strengthening our ability to support systems in doing the hard, necessary work of continuous improvement so that every student has access to the learning they deserve.”
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About Leading Educators
Leading Educators is a national nonprofit focused on making excellent, future-ready teaching the norm. We help school systems and states strengthen learning today while designing the innovations schools will need tomorrow—grounded in one of the strongest records of proven impact in the field.
Working at the intersection of teaching, talent, and technology, we provide targeted solutions to persistent instructional challenges, enabling schools where all students and educators achieve greatly together.
Learn more at leadingeducators.org
CONTACT:
Adan Garcia, Senior Director of Communications
(202) 510-0827
media@leadingeducators.org
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