Innovators of Color
2018

Phyllis Lockett

Founder & CEO

LEAP Innovations

Phyllis Lockett is a serial social entrepreneur who has led transformation efforts in education, government and the civic arena. Ms. Lockett is currently the founder and CEO of LEAP Innovations, an organization headquartered in Chicago that works with schools to catalyze and ignite education innovation and prepare students for the changing world of work. As the president and CEO of New Schools for Chicago, she helped raise more than $70 million to support opening 80 new public schools. Ms. Lockett serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), CME Group and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. She is a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. Recently, Phyllis was named a contributor to Forbes, where she writes about education innovation and the future of learning.