Jean serves as the CEO of New Leaders, a national nonprofit organization that develops school and system leaders in over 20 urban cities and 15 states. In his first year as CEO, Jean led New Leaders’ turnaround, enabling the organization to move from a budget deficit to an annual surplus that has been maintained over the past 10 years. During these same 10 years, the organization has dramatically scaled its impact by more than 400% and shifted its business model to allow for accelerated growth, revenue potential, and diverse partnership opportunities. Jean recently launched a partnership with Morehouse College and Clark/Atlanta University, prominent Historically Black Colleges, to create a fully online certification and master’s program in education leadership that will serve as a profit center for New Leaders and the colleges, focused on both a B2B and B2C recruitment strategy.
Jean is driving a strategy to shift from a philanthropic to an earned income model that is forecasted to generate $50+ million in annual revenue. Prior to New Leaders, Jean served as a senior advisor to NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein in the Bloomberg Administration.
As a leader of a preeminent human capital organization, Jean focuses on the selection, development, support and evaluation of high performing education leaders. Leaders trained by his organization exceed the average industry retention rate by 30%. Rigorous external evaluations conducted by the RAND Corporation have shown that New Leader-led schools outperform their peers in student achievement. Under Jean’s leadership, New Leaders’ work has led to national recognition and more than $100 million in competitive and other federal funding over two presidential administrations.
Jean serves on the board of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), the largest K-12 education technology company in America and served on the long-term strategic planning committee that sold the publicly traded company, returning over 300% to shareholders from its lowest share price. He is the only board member who was asked to serve on the company’s board after it was taken private. Jean also serves as the co-chair of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, a fund that was created to address under-investment in Black leaders and Black-led organizations by major donors. The Fund supports diverse social entrepreneurs who bring unique perspectives and expertise to tackling America’s most pressing challenges. Jean is a cofounder of Innovation for Equity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting innovative ways to improve life outcomes for Black learners of all ages. Additionally, Jean serves as the Lead Independent Director on the board of KinderCare, the nation’s largest for-profit childcare organization providing educational opportunities to children pre-K through age 12. Jean also served as a member of Governor Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission and was named to Forbes’ “Impact 30,” which recognizes the world’s leading social entrepreneurs from across the country. He is the co-author of two books: Breakthrough Principals and The School Leadership Playbook.