Making Economic and Social Mobility a Reality

TNTP is catalyzing a movement to redesign America’s public education system so that it meets the expectations of tomorrow—for young people, families, communities, and the nation.

We are educators, researchers, and innovators who know that a strong academic foundation is essential for improving children’s life outcomes. However, even excelling in school doesn’t outweigh the effects of poverty. We work across sectors to ensure young people have opportunities to access the factors of mobility that will help them thrive in an increasingly dynamic world.

Making Economic and Social Mobility a Reality
Students race to answer a question during their third-grade science class at J.M. Ullom Elementary.

Our Approach

Through our consulting, research, and advocacy work, we employ a three-part formula to drive meaningful change and create ample opportunities for young people to thrive.

An icon of a circle containing five arrows pointing in towards the center.

Insight.

We identify challenges in education and barriers to mobility using insights grounded in decades of field experience and existing and original research.

An icon of a circle containing an arrow pointing up.

Courage.

We’ve never met a challenge too daunting to tackle. We listen, collaborate, and lead with courage to achieve our mission.

An icon of a circle containing one line that branches into three separate lines with arrows at the ends.

Action.

We take bold actions towards measurable and sustainable impact to better prepare young people to navigate a dynamic world and workforce.

Our Leadership

Our leadership team is a diverse and dynamic group dedicated to ensuring all young people are prepared for success and have opportunities to thrive.

Executive Leadership

Tequilla Brownie, Ed.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Leticia de la Vara

Chief Policy, Engagements, & External Affairs Officer

Crystal Harmon

President

Head and shoulders photo of Tim Hise

Tim Hise

Chief Consulting Officer

Lin Johnson III

Chief Strategy, Growth, & Finance Officer

Arlene Sukran

Chief People & Central Operations Officer

Vice Presidents

Bailey Cato Czupryk

SVP, Transformation

Shay Edmond

VP, Northeast

Michael Franco

VP, National Consulting

Head and shoulders photo of Jomar McDonald

Jomar McDonald

VP, Technology

Headshot o of Jamila Newman

Jamila Newman

VP, Knowledge Management

Kim Oliver

VP, Policy and Community Coalitions

Christine Rhyner

VP, Southeast

Board

Luis Avila

President, Iconico Campaigns

Chris Bierly

Partner, Bain & Company, Inc.

Kara Bobroff

Executive Director, One Generation

Kenya Bradshaw

Chief Program Officer, Reconstruction

Jean-Claude Brizard

President and CEO, Digital Promise

Vinice Davis, Chair

Venture Partner, Imaginable Futures

Sharif El-Mekki

Founder and CEO, Center for Black Educator Development

Tina Fernandez, Vice Chair

Senior Fellow, Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative

Matt Glickman, Treasurer

Founder & President, Promise Venture Studio & Lecturer in Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Head and shoulders photo of Christina Grant

Christina Grant, Ed.D

Executive Director, Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University

David Y. Howe

CEO, Scout Partners, LLC

Head and shoulders photo of Lisette Nieves

Lisette Nieves, Ed.D

President, Fund for the City of New York (FCNY); Distinguished Clinical Professor, New York University; Co-founder, Center for Youth and the Future of Work

Gene Wade, Secretary

Venture Advisor, AI Fund

Our History

1997

Michelle Rhee founds The New Teacher Project

2000

Teaching Fellows Launches

2003

Missed Opportunities is published

2005

Unintended Consequences is published

2007

Laura Bush donates proceeds from Read All About It

2008

The New Teacher Project is active in two dozen districts

2009

The Widget Effect is published

2011

The New Teacher Project is renamed TNTP

2013

Forbes recognizes TNTP for remote work culture

2015

TNTP names DEI as an organizational imperative

2018

The Opportunity Myth is published

2020

The COVID-19 School Response Toolkit is launched

2021

Accelerate, Don’t Remediate and Unlocking Acceleration are published

2022

TNTP celebrates 25 years in operation

Today

1997

Michelle Rhee founds The New Teacher Project

The New Teacher Project is founded by Michelle Rhee and like-minded educators who believe that all students deserve great teachers.

2000

Teaching Fellows Launches

TNTP launches Teaching Fellows, a program that prepares talented people with deep content knowledge to teach in high-need schools.  We form partnerships with major urban districts, including Baltimore, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

A row of houses lines a street in a Baltimore neighborhood.
A community in Baltimore, home of the Baltimore City Teaching Residency.

2003

Missed Opportunities is published

We publish our first policy report, Missed Opportunities, addressing teacher shortages in urban districts.

Missed Opportunities publication cover.

2005

Unintended Consequences is published

We publish Unintended Consequences, proposing specific reforms for policymakers to improve the quality of education in city classrooms by enabling the best match of teacher to school.

Unintended Consequences publication cover.

2007

Laura Bush donates proceeds from Read All About It

First lady and former educator Laura Bush donates proceeds from Read All About It to The New Teacher Project.

2008

The New Teacher Project is active in two dozen districts

The New Teacher Project is active in two dozen districts, providing hands-on consulting in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and others.

We publish Mutual Benefits, examining New York City’s shift to mutual consent in teacher hiring.

2009

The Widget Effect is published

We release The Widget Effect, revealing how school systems treat teachers as interchangeable parts and exposing the national failure to acknowledge and act on differences in teacher effectiveness.

We begin partnering with state departments of education and charter management organizations.

The Widget Effect publication cover.

2011

The New Teacher Project is renamed TNTP

The organization is renamed TNTP to reflect the shift from a single focus on teacher recruitment and training to a broader, bolder mission.

We add work on school culture and leadership, as well as teacher retention and compensation, to our business portfolio.

2013

Forbes recognizes TNTP for remote work culture

Forbes recognizes TNTP as one of seven organizations to incorporate flex time and remote work into their culture.

2015

TNTP names DEI as an organizational imperative

TNTP includes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as an organizational imperative, with the goal of ensuring our leadership is diverse and more representative of the communities we serve.

We grow our client base to more than 30 cities across the country.

2018

The Opportunity Myth is published

We publish The Opportunity Myth, documenting why some high school graduates are unprepared for college and a career. In it, we identify four key missing resources: grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, deep engagement, and teachers who hold high expectations. More than 360K people, including teachers, school leaders, community partners, and parents, have visited the site or downloaded the report to access our recommendations for improvement.

 

The Opportunity Myth publication cover.
The Opportunity Myth Report

2020

The COVID-19 School Response Toolkit is launched

We launch the COVID-19 School Response Toolkit, containing free resources to help schools navigate challenges related to the pandemic, from at-home learning implementation to planning for the residual effects of the pandemic in upcoming years. More than 70K educators make use of the tools.

2021

Accelerate, Don’t Remediate and Unlocking Acceleration are published

We publish Accelerate, Don’t Remediate and Unlocking Acceleration (2022), which demonstrate that giving students grade-level work bolstered by just-in-time supports is key to addressing academic inequities exacerbated by COVID-19.

 

 

Accelerate, Don't Remediate publication cover.
Unlocking Acceleration publication cover.

2022

TNTP celebrates 25 years in operation

We celebrate our 25th anniversary. At our org-wide conference, a panel of past and present TNTP leaders reflect on the organization’s history and share their visions for the future.

Seven people sit in a row on a stage at TNTP's organization-wide conference.
Current and past TNTP leadership discuss the organization's 25-year journey. From left: Tequilla Brownie (CEO), Dan Weisberg, Karolyn Belcher, Tim Daly, Ariela Rozman, Michelle Rhee, and Victoria Van Cleef (EVP, Learning, Impact, & Design)

Today

TNTP’s work is about so much more than recruiting and placing new teachers. We are partners for change in public education, supporting school systems, communities, and families in achieving their goals for young people in and beyond the classroom.

Ready to get started?

Let’s Work Together

Let’s work together to ensure that all young people have pathways to opportunity and can thrive in an increasingly dynamic world.