Executive Director

The University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE or PLE) seeks a strategic and mission-oriented leader to serve as its next Executive Director (ED). At this challenging and complex moment for the education field, PLE’s work, rooted in advancing collective leadership capacity, is more important than ever. The incoming Executive Director will build upon the success of the current team to expand the reach and impact of PLE’s cutting-edge leadership development and evidence-based educational strategies to advance system change that elevates the quality of education and life outcomes for students across the nation.

UVA-PLE is a joint venture between the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business (Darden) and the School of Education and Human Development (EHD). A truly unique enterprise, PLE’s evidence-based, evolving approach combines the most innovative thinking in business and education to strengthen education leaders for the demands of leadership. Since its establishment in 2003, PLE has advanced education system transformation in over 950 schools, 200 districts, and 33 states. PLE’s programming is the only research-proven effort in the country focused on establishing system conditions ripe for change and building transformative leadership capacity to achieve that change. Specifically, PLE’s leadership development strategies increase the capacity of system and school teams to heighten focus and collaboration, shape their own future, and drive measurable, lasting improvements in system effectiveness and student learning.

The Executive Director is the chief strategist, team and operational builder, and the ambassador of PLE’s mission. This leader integrates efforts to advance distinctive learning experiences and partner support services. As the leader of PLE, this person will ensure seamless partner development, operations, marketing, network building, and research and thought leadership on systems change. Specifically, the new ED will establish a compelling, collaborative strategic vision for PLE’s next chapter; raise the profile of PLE as its public face; champion best-in-class cultural leadership to drive the PLE team toward ambitious, mission-aligned results and partner service; and serve as a savvy and entrepreneurial financial steward. The Executive Director dually reports to the Deans of UVA’s Darden School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development and coordinates constituents across the partner schools and the Darden School Foundation to ensure effective governance. 

UVA-PLE has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this search. Katie Rockman and Berkley Braden are leading this search with Janette Martinez and Maria Connor.