Meet Leah
I am the founder and Chief Learning Officer of The Urban Learning Institute, dedicated to supporting K-12 schools and districts shift towards competency-based learning to make school more authentic, meaningful, and impactful for students. Prior to consulting I worked as an Apple Education Leadership Executive and the Director of Curriculum for the NYC DOE's Office of Innovation. I was also a competency-based learning consultant to New York City schools, a high school assistant principal and Biology teacher for English Language Learners in the South Bronx, and a middle school science teacher in Peace Corps, Kazakhstan. I enjoy living in New York City with my 14 year-old son Caleb, and together we run, bike, kayak, ski, rock climb, surf, and hike.
“I am so grateful for the transformative work Leah has led with our school. Amidst all the craziness in the education world there is such simplicity when engaging in this work. Yes it’s challenging, but because it’s purposeful and teacher-driven it doesn’t seem as challenging. I have such a renewed sense of purpose and excitement every time I work with teachers now. It has completely changed my conversations with them.”
Natalie Perez Hernandez, Principal of PS 376 in Brooklyn