Professional Biography
A Capstone Instructor for Penn GSE’s Education Entreprenuership master’s program, Cheryl Thompson is the Director of the Equity by Design Educational Portfolio at Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. In this role she leads the implementation of an education portfolio focused on the retention of educators of color through supporting the success and development of Black and Latinx leaders in systems and by supporting systems in retaining these leaders through systemically redesigning structures through the lens of equity. Cheryl also supports the identification development and amplification of successful models tools and resources of equitable redesign in action in school systems. Cheryl also serves as a team instructional and cultural relevance expert and plays a key role in the development of education teams’ strategic redesign toward a focus on improving student instructional experience through centering proximity to students who are most marginalized, and a learning stance that co-creates solutions with community.
Prior to joining Schusterman, Cheryl was the Senior Executive Director of Programs for New Leaders and was responsible for all of the organization's national leadership program offerings including teacher leadership, principal preparation, and central office service and support for traditional and charter districts. Cheryl earned an MEDL from National Louis University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Health & Public Policy from University of Maryland.
