Our fellows come from all over the United States, and many have graduated from some of the top academic institutions in the country. They all share a common passion for helping students succeed when nothing else has worked. They are tireless, committed and influential in their schools and communities. See for yourself the kinds of leaders that the Tennessee Charter School Incubator attracts, and then ask yourself, “Will I be next?”
2012-2013 Fellows
Todd Dickson
Dickson began his education career in 2000 after successfully building the Melton Group, a residential real estate company in Colorado, from 1995 to 2000. After attending Stanford University for a master’s degree in education, he taught physics at Hillsdale High School in California, the International School of Lisbon and...Read More »
Bobby White
White entered the education field in 2000 as a middle school teacher, and taught for five years at the middle and high school levels before entering into school administration. His steady influence and creative intervention strategies helped transform a middle school known for being one of the...Read More »
2011-2012 Fellows
Charlie Friedman
Friedman began his teaching career with Teach For America in Philadelphia, where his students significantly outscored the district’s average on common benchmark assessments. He then joined the TFA staff as a program director and spent two summers as a school director before helping TFA pilot a new turnaround specialist...Read More »
Mia Howard
Howard’s work on Wall Street, in federal government and in corporate law led her to the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, which provided her with the foundation to develop Intrepid College Preparatory School. The school, which will serve grades five through 12, is scheduled to open in August 2013.
...Read More »Lagra Newman
Newman began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member in Los Angeles, where she received a “most effective” rating in reading and mathematics, the highest rating possible. Newman then recruited for TFA’s Atlanta region before teaching at a charter school in Washington, D.C. After Newman...Read More »
Ciji Pittman
Pittman began her education career as a Teach For America corps member in an Atlanta alternative high school before becoming a corps member adviser. Her work as an adviser, curriculum writer, Teach For America law intern and Jumpstart volunteer led her to start Aurora Collegiate Academy, which will open...Read More »
2010-2011 Fellows
Ravi Gupta
While still an undergraduate, Gupta launched a scholarship fund for Ghanaian children and then spent several intense summers teaching English and other key subjects in Ghana. During his final year of law school, Gupta joined Barack Obama’s presidential campaign as the special assistant to chief campaign strategist David Axelrod....Read More »
Linda Lentz
Lentz came to Nashville after serving as the founding dean of students at one of the strongest Noble Network schools in Chicago, and prior to that was on staff at Teach For America as a program director after teaching under TFA in Houston. Armed with the tools developed during...Read More »
